135 Street  ​
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 135th Street & Malcolm X Boulevard New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Harlem
Coordinates	40°48′50″N73°56′28″W / 40.814°N 73.941°W /40.814; -73.941
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Lenox Avenue Line
Services	2  (all times) ​  3  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M7,M102,Bx33 Short Line Bus:208
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	November 23, 1904; 121 years ago (1904-11-23)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Accessibility	Same-platform wheelchair transfer available
Traffic
2024	2,237,928[2]  1.7%
Rank	149 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 149th Street–Grand Concourse towardWakefield–241st Street 125th Street viaFranklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College 145th Street towardHarlem–148th Street
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to145th Street to149th Street–Grand Concourse to125th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

The135th Street station is astation on theIRT Lenox Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 135th Street andLenox Avenue inHarlem, it is served by the2 and3 trains at all times.

The 135th Street station was constructed for theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of thecity's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction on the tunnel segment that includes the 135th Street station started on October 2 of the same year. The station opened on November 23, 1904. The station platforms were lengthened in 1910.

The 135th Street station contains twoside platforms and three tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. The platforms contain exits to Lenox Avenue's intersection with 135th Street and are not connected to each other withinfare control. The platforms contain elevators from the street, which make the station compliant with theAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Planning for asubway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[3]: 21 However, development of what would become thecity's first subway line did not start until 1894, when theNew York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[3]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led byWilliam Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line fromNew York City Hall inlower Manhattan to theUpper West Side, where two branches would lead north intothe Bronx.^[4]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.^[3]: 148 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized byJohn B. McDonald and funded byAugust Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[5] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[3]: 165 In 1901, the firm ofHeins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[4]: 4 Belmont incorporated theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[3]: 182

The 135th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's East Side Branch (now theLenox Avenue Line). Farrell & Hopper began building the section from 110th Street to 135th Street on August 30, 1900, subcontracting the section north of 116th Street to John C. Rodgers.^{[5][6]: 252} The excavation was relatively easy because the subway was under one side of Lenox Avenue and there were no street railway tracks to work around.^{[6]: 252–253}

On November 23, 1904, the East Side Branch opened to145th Street.^[7][8] Initially, the station was served by East Side local and express trains. Local trains ran fromCity Hall toLenox Avenue (145th Street). Express trains had their southern terminus atSouth Ferry orAtlantic Avenue and had their northern terminus at 145th Street orWest Farms (180th Street).^[9] Express trains to 145th Street were eliminated in 1906, and West Farms express trains operated through to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.^[10]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[11]: 168 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 $50.6 million in 2024) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.9 million in 2024) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[12]: 15 The platforms at the 135th Street station were extended 110 feet (34 m) to the north and 30 feet (9.1 m) to the south.^[12]: 112 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the East Side Branch.^{[11]: 168 [13]}

In 1918, theBroadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south ofTimes Square–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. Local trains were sent toSouth Ferry, while express trains used the newClark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.^[14]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[15][16] The IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of"R-type" rolling stock. These fleet containedrollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The first such fleet, theR12, was put into service in 1948.^[17] The route to White Plains Road, formerly the route to West Farms, became known as the2, while the route to Lenox Avenue–145th Street became the3.^[18] TheNew York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans in 1956 to addfluorescent lights above the edges of the station's platforms.^[19] In 1959, all 2 and 3 trains became express.^[20]

Starting on March 2, 1998, the tunnel was reconstructed along with the cracked tunnel floor. This was done to correct a major water problem that had existed for many years due to the presence of the Harlem Creek and otherunderground streams, which caused extensive flooding, water damage, and seepage problems that occasionally contributed to severe service disruptions.^[21][22] The project cost $82 million and was finished on October 12, 1998.^[21][23] During the reconstruction, many2 trains were rerouted via theIRT Lexington Avenue Line, while the3 trains were rerouted to the137th Street–City College station on theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Each of the two Lenox Avenue Line tracks were alternately taken out of service and supplemental shuttle bus service connecting to other lines in the area were provided for much of this time.^[24][25]

Ground	Street level	Entrance/exit Elevator for northbound service at northeast corner of 135th Street and Lenox Avenue; elevator for southbound service at southwest corner
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound	← towardWakefield–241st Street(149th Street–Grand Concourse) ← towardHarlem–148th Street(145th Street)
	Center track	→ No regular service
	Southbound	→ towardFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College(125th Street) → → towardNew Lots Avenue (34th Street–Penn Station late nights)(125th Street) →
	Side platform

The station has three tracks and twoside platforms; the center track is not used in regular service.^[26] The2 and3 trains stop here at all times.^[27][28] The next stop to the south is125th Street, while the next stop to the north is149th Street–Grand Concourse for2 trains and145th Street for3 trains.^[29] The platforms were originally 350 feet (110 m) long, like at other stations north of96th Street.^{[4]: 4 [30]: 8} The platform extensions are at the north ends of the original platforms.^[30]: 42 Fixed platform barriers, which are intended to prevent commuters falling to the tracks, are positioned near the platform edges.^[31][32]Fare control is at platform level. There are no crossovers or crossunders between the two side platforms to allow free transfer between directions.

The northbound outer track merges with the center track just north of the station and the center track merges with the southbound outer one just south of the station. North of the station, adiamond crossover allows trains to switch between the two tracks. At the142nd Street Junction, the 2 train provides service tothe Bronx via theIRT White Plains Road Line while the 3 continues on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line to 145th Street andHarlem–148th Street.^[26]

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using acut-and-cover method.^[6]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. This trough contains afoundation ofconcrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[30]: 9 The platforms consist of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-ironDoric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions containI-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support thejack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[4]: 4 [30]: 9} There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^[30]: 9

The original decorative scheme consisted of blue/green tile station-name tablets, violet tile bands, a white terracotta cornice, and green terracotta plaques.^[30]: 42 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[30]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and terracotta contractorAtlantic Terra Cotta Company.^[30]: 42 Many of the original name tablets have since been replaced with newer renditions, but most of the plaques remain intact.

The 1995 artwork here is calledHarlem Timeline by Willie Birch. It features mosaics of notable Harlem residents on the station platforms.^[33] The one on the southbound side includesAdam Clayton Powell,Joe Louis, theSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,Charlie Parker,Clara Ward, andLouis Armstrong while one on the northbound side includes theHarlem Globetrotters, theNAACP, Abyssian Baptist Church,Cotton Club, andRandall's Island football team.^[34]

Each platform has one same-level fare control area at the center, containing aturnstile bank, token booth, two stairs to street-level, and an elevator. The northbound platform has exits to the eastern corners of Lenox Avenue and West 135th Street and the southbound side has exits to the western corners of that intersection. The elevators make this station fullyADA-accessible. The elevator for the southbound platform leads to the southwestern corner of West 135th Street and Lenox Avenue, while the elevator for the northbound platform leads to the northeastern corner.^[35]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to135th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IRT White Plains Road Line: 135th Street
• nycsubway.org —Harlem Timeline Artwork by Willie Birch (1995)
• Station Reporter —2 Train
• Station Reporter —3 Train
• The Subway Nut —135th Street PicturesArchived 2017-06-13 at theWayback Machine
• MTA's Arts For Transit —135th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line)
• 135th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View

• Accessible New York City Subway stations
• 1904 establishments in New York City
• Harlem
• IRT Lenox Avenue Line stations
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904

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