The 181st Street station (signed as 181st Street–George Washington Bridge) is a station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times.
Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the station opened on May 30, 1906, as part of the first subway, although the line had opened two months earlier and trains were skipping the station. It is one of three stations in the Fort George Mine Tunnel, which carries the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line under Washington Heights, and is below ground level. Due to the station's depth, the tunnel was blasted through the hillside; during the station's construction, a 300-ton boulder had killed 10 miners. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1948. The station was closed from December 2020 to November 2021 for elevator replacement.
The 181st Street station contains two side platforms and two tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations as well as a ceiling vault. The platforms contain exits to 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. 181st Street is one of three New York City Subway stations that can be accessed only by elevators; however, the station's four elevators are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Construction and opening
Construction Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864, but development of what became the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts over the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.
The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.
The 181st Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 133rd Street to a point north of 182nd Street. Work on this section was conducted by L. B. McCabe & Brother, who started building the tunnel segment on May 14, 1900. On that date, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at Broadway and 156th Street, one block south of the 157th Street station site. The 168th Street, 181st Street, and 191st Street stations were built as part of the Washington Heights Mine Tunnel (also known as the Fort George Tunnel), which stretches for over . The tunnel was dug through the hard rock under Washington Heights, with work proceeding from either end as well as from construction shafts. Construction shafts were excavated at 168th and 181st Streets, and elevators were installed inside these construction shafts after the tunnel was completed. The tunnel was mined in the early morning to minimize disruption. Much of the rock was crushed for concrete, including the concrete floor. The rails and arched roof were laid using travelers that proceeded the length of the tunnel. During construction, on October 24, 1903, a 300-ton boulder weakened by an explosive gave way, killing 10 miners (six instantly) and injuring eight more. The dead miners consisted of nine Italian immigrants (including the foreman) as well as an electrician from Germany.
Opening The original New York City Subway line from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch opened in 1904, with the line being extended to 157th Street that year. The West Side Branch was extended northward from 157th Street to a temporary terminus at 221st Street, near the Harlem River Ship Canal, on March 12, 1906, with the station at 181st Street not yet open. The 181st Street station opened on May 30, 1906, when express trains began running through to 221st Street. On the following day, new feeder streetcar lines operated by the Interborough Railway Company began running from the Bronx, over the Washington Bridge, and along 181st Street, to the station to provide transfers with the subway at the new station. These routes ran along Aqueduct Avenue, Fordham Road, 189th Street, Southern Boulevard, and 180th Street in the Bronx, connecting the West Bronx with the new subway line.
The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the 181st Street station, in conjunction with the streetcar routes over the Washington Bridge, helped contribute to a development boom in the direct vicinity of the station and the development of Washington Heights. Within five years, five- and six-story apartment buildings occupied most of the area around the station. The opening of the subway transformed the sparsely populated area into a growing neighborhood with apartment buildings and thriving business district along 181st Street.
After the first subway line was completed in 1908, the station was served by West Side local and express trains. Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and ended at 242nd Street in the Bronx. Local trains ran from City Hall to 242nd Street during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to South Ferry at other times.
Due to the draftiness of the 181st Street and 168th Street stations, many women's petticoats would fly about. In February 1908, engineers at the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) were almost done devising a solution to the problem.
Service changes and station renovations
1910s to 1930s
The station was originally built with two elevators on the southern end of the uptown platform. In fiscal year 1909, work was done to increase the carrying load of the elevators. On June 25, 1909, the New York City Board of Estimate approved an appropriation of $160,000 () for the installation of four additional elevators on the northern end of the uptown platform. These elevators measured each and could carry up to . In June 1910, work on the additional elevators was about 50 percent complete and was on track to be completed by March 1, 1911, although some of the elevators were to be placed in service before then. Work to install the elevators was nearly complete in 1911, and the final finishes were installed by January and February 1912. On February 3, 1913, the PSC was informed that the IRT had let a contract to construct an additional elevator at the station, which would be completed in April. The elevator would supplement the four elevators already in service at the station and would make use of the space provided in the elevator shaft for two additional elevators. The PSC had ordered that the IRT install two additional elevators in the station a few months prior. On May 19, 1915, residents of Washington Heights requested that the PSC install additional elevators at the 181st Street and 168th Street stations.
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the PSC proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. The northbound platform at the 181st Street station was extended to the north; timbering was used to support the arched ceiling during the extension work, thereby allowing it to retain structural integrity. The southbound platform was not lengthened. Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910, and ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line on January 24, 1911. Subsequently, the station could accommodate six-car local trains, but ten-car trains could not open some of their doors.
In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. The original West Side Line thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Local trains were sent to South Ferry, while express trains used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.
On March 10, 1925, members of a committee of the Cheskchamay Democratic Club of the 23rd Assembly District requested that the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) construct additional elevators at 180th Street and 182nd Street on the west side of St. Nicholas Avenue to reduce congestion at the station's six elevators. Transit Commissioner John O'Ryan said he would look into the issue and said that having the four north elevators run to the northbound platform instead of running only to the mezzanine level as a short-term measure could help address some of the congestion.
1940s to 1990s
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. Platforms at IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations between and , including those at 181st Street, were lengthened to between 1946 and 1948, allowing full ten-car express trains to stop at these stations. A contract for the platform extensions at 181st Street and eight other stations on the line was awarded to Spencer, White & Prentis Inc. in October 1946, with an estimated cost of $3.891 million (). The platform extensions at these stations were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the platform extension at 181st Street opened. Simultaneously, the IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The route to 242nd Street became known as the 1. In 1959, all 1 trains became local.
On December 28, 1950, the NYCBOT issued a report concerning the construction of bomb shelters in the subway system. Five deep stations in Washington Heights, including the 181st Street station, were considered to be ideal for being used as bomb-proof shelters. The program was expected to cost $104 million (equivalent to $ billion in ). These shelters were expected to provide limited protection against conventional bombs while protecting against shock waves and air blast, as well as from the heat and radiation from an atomic bomb. To become suitable as shelters, the stations would require water-supply facilities, first-aid rooms, and additional bathrooms. However, the program, which required federal funding, was never completed.