18 Street
FormerNew York City Subway station
18th Street station shortly after construction
Station statistics
Address	East 18th Street & Park Avenue South New York, NY
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Gramercy
Coordinates	40°44′13″N73°59′20″W / 40.737°N 73.989°W /40.737; -73.989
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	None (abandoned)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (121 years ago) (1904-10-27)[2]
Closed	November 8, 1948 (77 years ago) (1948-11-08)[3]
Station succession
Next north	23rd Street–Baruch College
Next south	14th Street–Union Square
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to23 St–Baruch College to14 St–Union Sq
Street map

The18th Street station was a localstation on theIRT Lexington Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. It was located at the intersection ofPark Avenue South and 18th Street inGramercy,Manhattan.

The 18th Street station was constructed for theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of thecity's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 18th Street station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station was closed on November 8, 1948, as a result of a platform lengthening project at23rd Street.

The 18th Street station contains two abandonedside platforms and four tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. Many of these decorations have been covered with graffiti.

Planning for asubway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[4]: 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.^{[4]: 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.^[5]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[4]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[4]: 161 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,^[6] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[4]: 165 In 1901, the firm ofHeins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[5]: 4 Belmont incorporated theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[4]: 182

The 18th Street station was constructed as part of the route segment from Great Jones Street to 41st Street. Construction on this section of the line began on September 12, 1900. The section from Great Jones Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 33rd Street was awarded to Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Contracting Company, while the remaining section to 41st Street was done by Ira A. Shaker.^[6] By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but theIRT Powerhouse and the system'selectrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[4]: 186 [7]} The 18th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway fromCity Hall to145th Street on theBroadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^{[2][4]: 186}

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[8] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line toVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now theLenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours andSouth Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall toLenox Avenue (145th Street).^[9]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[10]: 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.^[11]: 15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 18th Street station, were lengthened by between 20 and 30 feet (6.1 and 9.1 m). Both platforms were extended to the north and south.^[11]: 108 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[10]: 168 The Lexington Avenue Line opened north ofGrand Central–42nd Street in 1918, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along thePelham Line inthe Bronx.^[12]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 18th Street and seven other stations on the Lexington Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[13][14] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.^[15][16]

The closing of this station was proposed as early as 1928.^[17] The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[18][19] The station closed on November 8, 1948. The platforms at 23rd Street had been lengthened, with entrances at 22nd Street, and the 18th Street station was close to the14th Street–Union Square station.^[3]

Ground	Street level
Platform level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← do not stop here(23rd Street–Baruch College)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ do not stop here(14th Street–Union Square) →
	Side platform, not in service

Like other local stations, 18th Street has four tracks and two abandonedside platforms. The two local tracks, which formerly served the station, are used by the6 train at all times,<6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and the4 train during late nights. The two express tracks are used by the 4 and5 trains during daytime hours.^[20] The platforms were 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT.^{[5]: 4 [21]: 8}

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using acut-and-cover method.^[22]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains afoundation ofconcrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[21]: 9 Each former platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The former platforms contain circular, cast-ironDoric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m). Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support thejack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[5]: 4 [21]: 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.^[21]: 9

The decorative scheme consisted of blue/green tile tablets, buff and violet tile bands, a violet faience cornice, and green faience plaques.^[21]: 34 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[21]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractorGrueby Faience Company.^[21]: 34 The 18th Street station is fairly well preserved, with the exception of graffiti and some litter.

• Worth Street station
• 91st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IRT East Side Line: 18th Street
• Abandoned Stations –18 Street
• Forgotten NY –Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• Forgotten NY: Subways and Trains –Dead at 18

• Defunct Interborough Rapid Transit Company stations
• IRT Lexington Avenue Line stations
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904
• 1904 establishments in New York City
• Former elevated and subway stations in Manhattan
• Park Avenue
• Gramercy Park
• 1948 disestablishments in New York (state)
• Railway stations in the United States closed in 1948

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