Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

The Rector Street station is a station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Rector Street and Greenwich Street in Financial District of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times.

 Rector Street
 "1" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Uptown platform
Station statistics
AddressRector Street & Greenwich Street
New York, New York
BoroughManhattan
LocaleFinancial District
Coordinates40°42′29″N 74°00′47″W / 40.708°N 74.013°W / 40.708; -74.013
DivisionA (IRT)[1]
Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services   1 all times (all times)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: M55, X27, X28
Bus transport MTA Bus: BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4[2]
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918; 106 years ago (1918-07-01)
ClosedSeptember 11, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-11)
RebuiltSeptember 15, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-09-15)
Opposite-
direction
transfer
No
Traffic
20231,606,245[3]Increase 14.2%
Rank202 out of 423[3]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
WTC Cortlandt South Ferry
Terminus
Location
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York
Rector Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Track layout

Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops weekends during the day Stops weekends during the day

The station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the Dual Contracts with New York City, and opened on July 1, 1918. The station's platforms were lengthened in the 1960s, and the station was renovated after being out of service for a year in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

History

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Early history

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Mosaic name of the station
 
Close-up of one of the wall mosaics with the letter "R"

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.[4][5][6]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.[7] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.[8][9]

Rector Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.[10][11] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.[10][12] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[13] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.[8]

Later years

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The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[14][15] On August 9, 1964, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced the letting of a $7.6 million contract to lengthen platforms at stations from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station on the line, and stations from Central Park North–110th Street to 145th Street on the Lenox Avenue Line to allow express trains to be lengthened from nine-car trains to ten-car trains, and to lengthen locals from eight-car trains to ten-car trains. With the completion of this project, the NYCTA project to lengthen IRT stations to accommodate ten-car trains would be complete.[16]

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the subway tunnels around Cortlandt Street collapsed, and the line was closed temporarily. About 1,000 feet (300 m) of tunnels and trackage, including 575 feet (175 m) of totally destroyed tunnels and tracks in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site, were entirely rebuilt.[17] The station reopened on September 15, 2002.[18] During the intervening period, with service suspended indefinitely, the station underwent a $14 million renovation.[19]

Due to water damage to South Ferry caused by Hurricane Sandy, all 1 trains terminated at this station from October 2012 until April 4, 2013, when the former South Ferry Loop terminal station reopened.[20]

Station layout

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Northbound entrance at Edgar Street
Ground Street level Entrances/exits
Platform level Side platform
Northbound   toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (WTC Cortlandt)
Southbound   toward South Ferry (Terminus)
No service: South Ferry (loops)
Side platform

This underground station has two tracks and two side platforms.[21] The 1 train stops here at all times.[22] The station is between WTC Cortlandt to the north and South Ferry to the south.[23]

Each platform has mosaic trim line and name tablets of mostly green and brown. The tiles are painted light green below the "R" tablets.

Exits

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Fare control from downtown platform to Elizabeth Berger Plaza

This station has five fare control areas at three locations. There is no crossover between the uptown and downtown sides. On the northern end of the downtown platform, there are two High Entry/Exit Turnstiles leading to one street stair that goes up to the northwest corner of Rector and Greenwich Streets coming from two high entrance turnstiles directly on the platform. On the northern end of the uptown platform, a single staircase leads to the tiny, full-time mezzanine. It has a turnstile bank, token booth, and one street stair that leads to the north corner of Rector and Greenwich Streets.[24] The north end of the uptown platform had an exit to the basement of 88 Greenwich Street, which opened in 1931.[25] The exit to 88 Greenwich Street had closed by 1941.[26]

In the middle of the downtown platform, two staircases lead up to a tiny intermediate level where a single exit-only turnstile leads to a staircase that goes up midblock on Greenwich Street between Rector and Edgar Streets.[24]

The south end of the downtown platform has HEET turnstiles leading to a single staircase that goes up to Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza, just south of Edgar Street where Greenwich Street ends at the foot of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. Directly across the street from this area, there are two street stairs that lead down to two HEET turnstiles on the uptown platform. These entrances are located directly across from another entrance to the separate Rector Street station on the BMT Broadway Line.[24]

Lower Manhattan transit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fulton Street         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

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  1. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  4. ^ New Subways For New York: The Dual System of Rapid Transit. New York State Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  5. ^ The Dual System of Rapid Transit. New York State Public Service Commission. September 1912. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. ^ "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. p. 846. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections". The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  9. ^ "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines". The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon". New-York Tribune. July 1, 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
  11. ^ "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic". The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance". The New York Times. July 1, 1917. p. RE11. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 99994412. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph". The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
  16. ^ "IRT Riders To Get More Train Room; $8.5 Million Is Allocated for Longer Stations and for 3 New Car Washers". The New York Times. August 10, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Randy (January 4, 2002). "Subway Line In Attack May Reopen Much Earlier". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Randy (September 17, 2002). "Tunnel Vision; With Station's Reopening, Even Commuters Smile". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  19. ^ Donohue, Pete (September 8, 2002). "RECTOR ST. STOP GETS NEW LOOK". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  20. ^ "Mta.info | Old South Ferry Station to Reopen for Service". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  21. ^ Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "1 Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  23. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  24. ^ a b c "Rector Street Neighborhood Map". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  25. ^ Eleventh Annual Report For The Calendar Year 1931. New York State Transit Commission. 1922. p. 74.
  26. ^ Appeals, New York (State) Court of (1942). New York Court of Appeals. Records and Briefs. pp. 40, 143–148. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
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