181 Street
Platform view looking south
Station statistics
Address	West181st Street &Fort Washington Avenue New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Washington Heights,Hudson Heights
Coordinates	40°51′06″N73°56′17″W / 40.8517°N 73.9380°W /40.8517; -73.9380
Division	B (IND)[1]
Line	IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus:Bx3,Bx7,Bx11,Bx13,Bx35,Bx36,M4,M98,M100 GWB Bus Station
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932; 93 years ago (1932-09-10)[2]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Former/other names	181st Street–Fort Washington Avenue[3]
Other entrances/ exits	Fort Washington Avenue & 184th Street, Overlook Terrace & 184th Street, east side of Fort Washington Avenue
Traffic
2024	2,042,771[4]  16.6%
Rank	160 out of 423[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 190th Street towardInwood–207th Street 175th Street towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue orOzone Park–Lefferts Boulevard
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to190th Street to175th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
181st Street Subway Station (IND)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000233[5]
Added to NRHP	March 30, 2005

The181st Street station (also known as181st Street–Fort Washington Avenue) is astation on theIND Eighth Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. It is located beneathFort Washington Avenue in theHudson Heights section of theWashington Heights neighborhood, between181st and 184th Streets. The station is served by theA train at all times.

The 181st Street station opened in 1932 and has two tracks and twoside platforms. It is located nearBennett Park, the highest natural point in Manhattan. The station has two exits to Fort Washington Avenue: one at 181st Street and another across from Bennett Park. A third entrance is at 184th Street and Overlook Terrace at the bottom of the hill; elevators connect the Bennett Park and Overlook Terrace entrances. The station is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

New York City mayorJohn Francis Hylan's original plans for theIndependent Subway System (IND), proposed in 1922, included building over 100 miles (160 km) of new lines and taking over nearly 100 miles (160 km) of existing lines. The lines were designed to compete with the existing underground, surface, and elevated lines operated by theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and BMT.^[6][7] On December 9, 1924, theNew York City Board of Transportation (BOT) gave preliminary approval for the construction of theIND Eighth Avenue Line.^[8] This line consisted of a corridor connectingInwood, Manhattan, toDowntown Brooklyn, running largely underEighth Avenue but also parallelingGreenwich Avenue andSixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan.^[8][9] The line also included a tunnel underFort Washington Avenue inWashington Heights, Manhattan.^[8] The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with a station at 181st Street.^[10]

The BOT began constructing the 181st Street station in 1928.^[5]: 8Squire J. Vickers, the chief architect of theDual System, helped design the 181st Street station. He was responsible for most stations on the city-operatedIndependent Subway System (IND), and, being a painter, he didtile work for the station.^{[5]: 8 [11]: 183}Robert Ridgway was hired as the chief engineer.^[5]: 9 The finishes at the five stations between175th and207th Street, including the 181st Street station, were 18 percent completed by May 1930.^[12] By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the stations from116th Street to 207th Street were 99.9 percent completed.^[13] The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.^[14]

A preview event for the new subway was hosted on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.^[15][16] The 181st Street station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated IND's initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line betweenChambers Street and207th Street.^[17][18] Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $4,406,460,488 in 2024). Service at this station was provided with express service from its onset. While theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided service to Washington Heights, the new subway via Fort Washington Avenue made subway service more readily accessible.^[19] Soon after the station opened, a bus route running over theGeorge Washington Bridge began connecting this station toFort Lee, New Jersey, for a fare of five cents.^[20] The construction of the station spurred development in the surrounding area.^[21] Its opening resulted in the development of residential apartment buildings around the station.^[5]: 9

In December 1950, theNew York City Board of Transportation issued a report concerning the construction of bomb shelters in the subway system in the midst of theCold War. 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 $1,359,192,254 in 2024). These shelters were expected to provide limited protection against conventional bombs, while providing protection 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.^[22][23] However, the program, which required federal funding, was never completed.^[24]

The 181st Street station is mostly unchanged from its original design, although it has deteriorated over time, with some water damage.^[5]: 9 On March 30, 2005, the 181st Street station was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.^[5] The station was considered historically and architecturally significant as an early IND station that retained many of its original features.^[5]: 8

In May 2022, the three escalators leading to the 181st Street exit were all closed for repairs. As a result, riders had to either use the 184th Street exit or walk up nearly 90 steps.^[25][26] The escalators had suffered periodic outages over the years; they were all closed simultaneously because they were powered by the same motor.^[25] The replacement escalators opened in April 2023, two months behind schedule.^[27] In 2025, the MTA requested that the developer of a nearby parcel at 524 Fort Washington Avenue, adjacent to one of the 181st Street station's entrances, set aside space for a subway power station.^[28]

From 1932 until 1957, pedestrians had to pay a fare to use the elevators. Though the elevators were intended for subway riders, local residents paid the subway fare to avoid climbing about eight stories up Fort Washington Hill. On September 5, 1957, theNew York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) began allowing free public access to the elevators at the 181st and190th Street stations. Bills were proposed in theNew York State Legislature to put the elevators out of fare control, but these failed in committee. The NYCTA agreed onceJoseph Zaretzki, the local State Senator, requested the change.^[29]

During the 1970s, the NYCTA attempted to eliminate the elevator attendants at this station once the elevators become automatic, but was not able to do so as a state law was passed by the urging of local politicians that required them to stay on the job. For four months during 1999, the station was closed while repairs were made to the elevators.^[30]

Several of the elevators in the station are staffed by elevator attendants, who are also employed at four otherdeep-level stations in Washington Heights. The elevator attendants are intended to reassure passengers, as the elevators are the only entrance to the platforms, and passengers often wait for the elevators with an attendant.^[31] The attendants at the five stations are primarily maintenance and cleaning workers who suffered injuries that made it hard for them to continue doing their original jobs.^[32][33] Riders of the 181st Street station have connected with the station's elevator attendants. For instance, in 2000, one elevator attendant put up images of popular jazz musicians while playing jazz music. TheMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) ordered the posters removed, but 300 residents protested their removal. The elevator attendants have been known to attempt to cheer up commuters by playing music. A 2003New York Times article stated that one operator playedcalypso music andmerengue music from a portable CD player, and that "on occasion a dour-faced occupant will execute a brief tap or samba step on the way out".^[33]

In July 2003, to reduce costs, the MTA announced that as part of its 2004 budget it would eliminate 22 elevator operator positions at the 181st Street station and four others in Washington Heights, leaving one full-time operator per station.^[33] The agency had intended to remove all the attendants at these stops, but kept one in each station after many riders protested.^[34][35] In addition, the MTA began operating all elevators at all times; prior to the change, each elevator only operated if it was staffed by an elevator operator.^[36] The change took effect on January 20, 2004,^[37] and was expected to save $1.15 million (equivalent to $1,965,693 in 2024) a year.^[36]

In November 2007, the MTA proposed savings cuts to help reduce the agency's deficit. As part of the plan, all elevator operators at 181st Street, along with those in four other stations in Washington Heights, would have been cut.^[38][39] MTA employees had joined riders in worrying about an increase in crime as a result of the cuts after an elevator operator at181st Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line helped save a stabbed passenger.^[40] The move was intended to save $1.7 million a year. However, on December 7, 2007, the MTA announced that it would not remove the remaining elevator operators at these stations, due to pushback from elected officials and residents from the area.^[41] In October 2018, the MTA once again proposed removing the elevator operators at the five stations, but this was reversed after dissent from the Transport Workers' Union.^[42] The MTA again suggested reassigning elevator operators to station-cleaner positions in June 2023,^[43][44] prompting local politicians to sue to prevent the operators' reassignments.^[32][45]

The station's elevators closed for replacement on August 3, 2019,^[46] and reopened almost exactly a year later on August 2, 2020.^[47][48] The elevators that were replaced had been in service since the early 1930s, while the new elevators contained wider doors to allow for faster passenger entry and exit.^[47] During the replacement, the station remained open via the exits to 181st Street and Overlook Terrace.^[49][50]

As part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program, the 181st Street station was selected to receive elevators between the platforms and mezzanine as part of a process to expand theNew York City Subway system's accessibility.^[51] By February 2021, funding had been committed to accessibility renovations at the 181st Street station.^[52] In December 2021, the MTA awarded a contract for the installation of elevators at eight stations, including the 181st Street station.^[53][54] As of May 2022^[update], work on the ADA-accessible elevators was scheduled to begin in September 2022;^[25] at the time, the project was scheduled to be completed in June 2023.^[55] The platform elevators were eventually opened on December 7, 2023.^[56]

Ground	Street level	Exits and entrances Elevators inside station house on the east side of Fort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and West 185th Streets across from Bennett Park. Wheelchair ramp entrance at northwest corner of West 184th Street and Overlook Terrace.
Mezzanine	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, 181st Street escalators, tunnel to Overlook Terrace, Bennett Park elevators
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound	← towardInwood–207th Street(190th Street)
	Southbound	← towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue,Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street, orOzone Park–Lefferts Boulevard(175th Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two tracks and twoside platforms.^[57] The station's platforms are 660 feet (200 m) long, a typical length of station platforms built by theIndependent Subway System (IND), and the vault containing the station is 50 feet (15 m) wide. The platform level contains a singlebarrel-vaulted ceiling.^[5]: 3

The outer walls of the platform level consist of tiled alcoves, slightly recessed within concrete arches. The station's tiles are colored maroon.^[5]: 4 This was part of a color-codedtile system used throughout the IND.^[58] The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away fromLower Manhattan. As such, the maroon tiles used at the 181st Street station are also used at168th Street, the first express station to the south, as well as at other stations on the Eighth Avenue Line north of 168th Street.^[59][60] Small maroon, black, and white mosaics with the number "181" are located within some of the alcoves. Within the alcoves that do not contain the "181" mosaic, there are black tiles with white numerals reading "181". The uptown platform has black-and-white signs forYeshiva University.^[5]: 4

A pedestrian concourse is located above the platforms along the station's entire length, supported from the cementedbarrel-vaulted ceiling by steel Y-shaped struts. This concourse connects the two mezzanines at the north and south ends of the station and has four steel-and-concrete stairs to each platform.^[5]: 4 There are metal railings along the concourse, from which the platforms can be seen.^[61][62][63] The southern mezzanine has a station agent booth and storage rooms.^[5]: 5

The 181st Street station has three entrances. Two of them are located at the top of a hill along Fort Washington Avenue: one between West 183rd and 185th Streets, across from Bennett Park, and the other at 181st Street. The third, at Overlook Avenue and 184th Street, is located at the bottom of a hill.^[64] The entrances at the 181st Street station were designed so as to not be sidewalk obstructions like those constructed by theInterborough Rapid Transit Company and theBrooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, the two other subway operators in the city. To accomplish this goal, the entrance at Overlook Terrace was placed on city-owned property near the station, and the entrance at Fort Washington Avenue between 183rd and 185th Streets was placed in a building.^[65] The entrances at Fort Washington Avenue at 181st Street could not be erected within buildings.^[65]

The entrance at Overlook Terrace leads to a 240-foot (73 m) passageway to the northern mezzanine.^{[5]: 5 [65]} This entrance is accessed from a single-storyhead house with a stepped roof and a facade of stone andashlar. This headhouse contains two arches surrounded by interlacing diamond motifs; there are wooden doors within each arch. A backlit,Art Deco "Subway" sign is located above and in between the archways, atop a stone pedestal.^[5]: 5

The entrance on Fort Washington Avenue between 183rd and 185th Streets leads to three elevators that descend 100 feet (30 m) to mezzanine level.^{[5]: 5 [65]} It is entered from a single-story stonevestibule with a pointed diamond-shaped arch surrounded by an interlacing diamond motif.^{[5]: 6 [11]: 183–184} The arch is surrounded by zigzag motifs, and there is a backlit Art Deco "Subway" sign above this arch.^{[5]: 6 [11]: 184} In addition, four wooden doors are recessed within the entrance vestibule.^[5]: 6 The top of the entrance vestibule contains zigzagging horizontal lines.^[11]: 184 The vestibule leads to a slightly recessed masonry structure that rises two stories above the height of Fort Washington Avenue. The masonry structure forms the top of a seven-story mechanical structure with an emergency staircase, the three elevators, and the station's ventilation system.^[5]: 6

The entrance at Fort Washington Avenue and 181st Street consists of four stairs, two to each southern corner of the intersection.^[64][65] These stairs lead to a small landing immediately below the intersection, which in turn leads to the escalators that descend to the southern mezzanine.^[5]: 5

Overlook Terrace entrance at West 184th Street

Fort Washington Avenue entrance between West 183rd and 185th Streets

The highest natural point on Manhattan Island is inBennett Park, adjacent to the station exit onFort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and 185th Streets (along the axis of where West 184th Street would be located).^[66] Because of the station's depth, long escalators lead to 181st Street at the south end, and elevators at the north end of the station carry passengers to the Bennett Park exit.^[67] The elevators were formerly only open during the daytime and required the payment of a fare to use.^[68] Since 1957, the elevators have not required the payment of a fare, so pedestrians traveling between Overlook Terrace and Fort Washington Avenue are allowed to use the elevators for free. There are also free elevators for pedestrians at 190th Street, the next station uptown,^[29] as well as at191st Street on theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^[69]

Additional elevators were announced between the platforms and mezzanine in December 2019 as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program^[70] and were completed in 2023, making the stationADA-accessible.^[56] Patrons with wheelchairs are able to traverse from this entrance to the passageway out to Overlook Terrace, as the elevators provide direct access to both the mezzanine and street level.^[5]: 6 A ramp bypasses a short set of steps between the Overlook Terrace entrance and the passageway, making that entrance ADA-accessible.^[56] There is a staircase available in case of an emergency.^[5]: 5

The station and the nearby George Washington Bridge Bus Station are served by ten localMTA Regional Bus Operations routes and various interstate bus routes.^[71][72]

The station is mentioned in the title song of the Broadway musicalIn the Heights byLin-Manuel Miranda, where Usnavi says to take the A train "even farther than Harlem to Northern Manhattan and maintain, get off at 181st and take the escalator. I hope you're writing this down I'm gonna test ya later".^[73]

On September 13, 1980, aspiring pianist Eric Kaminsky was robbed and stabbed to death in the station. His murder became the basis for his mother's bookThe Victim's Song.^[74]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to181st Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IND 8th Avenue: 181st Street
• 181st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Overlook Terrace entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Fort Washington Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View

• Accessible New York City Subway stations
• 1932 establishments in New York City
• IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932
• Washington Heights, Manhattan

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