Wall Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
Encyclopedia
Wall Street is a station
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Line is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Downtown Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem. The portion in Lower and Midtown Manhattan was part of the first subway line in New York...

 of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

, located at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street. It is served by the 4
4 (New York City Subway service)
The 4 Lexington Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored green on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan....

train at all times and the 5
5 (New York City Subway service)
The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored green on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan....

train at all times except late nights.

Description

It is a two track station, with two side platform
Side platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

s that are slightly offset from one another.

The standard IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the City in June 1940...

 name tablet mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

s are original as well as the fancy ceiling accents and the iron pillars. On the southbound platform is a wooden token booth and ticket chopper, wooden restroom doors on each side. The walls on the platforms are clad in pink stone at the bottom, followed by white tiles, the name of the station in white letters and blue mosaics, and decorated tiles at the top. The top part is decorated with tiles depicting vines or artistic depictions of a New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....

 stapled colonial house with the palisade wall in front of it, which gave today's Wall Street its name.

There is a crossunder about midway along the length of the platforms, and a lesser-used one at the north end. At street level are faux kiosks on the southbound side. A complex underground passageway exists outside the fare control which connects to the Broad Street
Broad Street (BMT Nassau Street Line)
Broad Street is a station on the BMT Nassau Street Line of the New York City Subway located at the intersection of Broad and Wall Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan....

 station on the BMT Nassau Street Line
BMT Nassau Street Line
The BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system in Manhattan. It is served by the and trains which are colored brown on maps and signage...

, and to the Wall Street station on the Brooklyn Branch of the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. This passageway also leads to the Chase Manhattan Plaza and the old Equitable Building
Equitable Building (Manhattan)
The Equitable Building is a 38-story office building in New York City, located at 120 Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. A landmark engineering achievement as a skyscraper, it was designed by Ernest R. Graham and completed in 1915...

.

The entrances are covered with curved metal roofs painted green. The metal is sculpted with patterns made to resemble wood or leaves.

Renovation

The original white tiles from the early 20th century were walled over with glossy dark blue tiles in the 1970s, with only the name of station allowed to stay. Similar remodeling work was done during that time with 51st Street station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Line is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Downtown Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem. The portion in Lower and Midtown Manhattan was part of the first subway line in New York...

, using beige tiles.

In 2006 a project to renovate/restore the station back to its original appearance began. As of May 2006, the blue tiles mentioned above had been removed and remnants of the original white tile-work exposed. The condition of the original tiles were fair to poor to completely missing. All missing tiles were refitted based on original models.

Further reading

  • Lee Stokey. Subway Ceramics : A History and Iconography. 1994. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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