33 Street  ​
Downtown platform with anArts for Transit artwork,Lariat Seat Loops, on the columns
Station statistics
Address	East 33rd Street & Park Avenue New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Murray Hill,Kips Bay
Coordinates	40°44′47″N73°58′55″W / 40.74639°N 73.98194°W /40.74639; -73.98194
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights) ​  6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M34 SBS,M34A SBS,M101,M102,M103 MTA Bus:BxM1,BxM3,BxM4,BxM11,BxM18,BM5,QM12,QM15,QM16,QM17,QM18,QM24 NYC Ferry: Astoria and Soundview Routes (onFDR Drive andEast 34th Street)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (121 years ago) (1904-10-27)[2]
Traffic
2024	6,166,420[3]  8.8%
Rank	37 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Grand Central–42nd Street 4  ​6  <6> towardPelham Bay Park Local 28th Street 4  ​6  <6> towardBrooklyn Bridge–City Hall does not stop here
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Grand Central shuttle no service
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend toGrand Central–42nd St to28th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
33rd Street Subway Station (IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 1096
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001014[4]
NYCL No.	1096
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004
Designated NYCL	October 23, 1979[5]

The33rd Street station is a localstation on theIRT Lexington Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection ofPark Avenue and33rd Street in theMurray Hill neighborhood ofManhattan, it is served by6 trains at all times,<6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and4 trains during late night hours.

The 33rd 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 33rd 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. After the city's first subway line was split into multiple lines in 1918, there was a failed proposal in the 1920s to convert 33rd Street into an express station. The station's platforms were lengthened in the late 1940s.

The 33rd Street station contains twoside platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations, which are continued along the platform extensions. The platforms contain exits to 32nd Street to the south and 33rd Street to the north. The platforms are not connected to each other withinfare control. The original station interior is aNew York City designated landmark and listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

Planning for asubway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[6]: 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.^{[6]: 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,^[6]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[6]: 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,^[7] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[6]: 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.^[6]: 182

The 33rd 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. Shaler.^{[7][8]: 4–5} The section between 33rd and 41st Streets was built as two double-track tunnels. To accommodate a never-built connection to the mainline platforms atGrand Central Terminal, the tunnel carrying northbound trains was shifted eastward (nearly touching the eastern curb line of Park Avenue). At the time, the railroads that operated the terminal had not agreed to the connection.^[8]: 7 Property owners did not learn about the change until a series of accidents occurred along the excavation site in 1902.^[8]: 7 A dynamite explosion near Park Avenue and 41st Street on January 27, 1902, killed five people,^[9][10] and several mansions on Park Avenue fell into the excavation site that March due torockslides.^[11] Shaler became known by the pejorative nickname of "hoodoo contractor" as a result.^[12] After Shaler was killed by a rockslide in his own excavation site on June 17, 1902,^[13] his estate completed the construction of the tunnel between 33rd and 41st Street.^[8]: 5

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.^{[6]: 186 [14]} The 33rd 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][6]: 186} Litigation over the IRT's Murray Hill tunnels continued for several years;^[8]: 7–8 in 1905, a judge found that the city government was responsible for the January 1902 explosion.^[15] In spite of this, the northbound tunnel was never relocated, as it had already been completed.^[8]: 7–8

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[16] 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).^[17]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[18]: 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.^[19]: 15 Both platforms at the 33rd Street station was extended 27 feet (8.2 m) to the south. New "electric manholes", passageways leading to the equipment closets, were built at the southern ends of the platforms.^[19]: 108 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[18]: 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.^[20]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a proposal to convert the 33rd Street station into an express stop.^[21][22] It was estimated that the extra time spent by express trains at 33rd Street would be offset by the reduced dwell times at Grand Central.^[23][24] Local business owners supported the proposal,^[25][26] but the IRT opposed the plan, which would cost the company $750,000.^[27][28] In October 1923, the plan was postponed for a year due to a lack of funds.^[29][30] The Fifth Avenue Association requested in January 1924 that the Transit Commission again consider converting the 33rd Street station into an express stop, citing the fact that a 35-story structure was to be built immediately adjacent to the station.^[31] The express-stop proposal was postponed indefinitely in 1925.^[32] The Fifth Avenue Association requested in 1929 that the express-station proposal be reconsidered. The association said the conversion would "complete a quadrilateral of express stops" that included34th Street–Penn Station,Times Square–42nd Street, and Grand Central–42nd Street.^[32][33]

In 1928, to alleviate overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Line, a consulting engineer for the New York State Transit Commission proposed the construction of "reservoir" stations at 33rd/34th and 42nd Streets.^[34] The proposal entailed constructing a northbound-only tunnel under Lexington Avenue from 30th to 42nd Street, with stations at 34th and 42nd Streets, then converting the IRT tunnel under Park Avenue and the existing 33rd and 42nd Street stations to southbound-only use. The northbound and southbound stations at 33rd/34th and 42nd Streets would both have had two express tracks and one local track; the express tracks in either direction would have merged with each other north of 42nd Street and south of 30th Street.^[34] Although the "reservoir" plan was technically feasible, the $25 million projected cost was too high.^[35]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[36][37] In January 1947, theNew York City Board of Transportation awarded a $4.003 million contract for the lengthening of platforms at the23rd Street–Baruch College,28th Street, and 33rd Street stations.^[38] The platform extensions at all three stations opened on April 13, 1948, after which they could accommodate ten-car trains.^[39] On December 27, 1948, a new entrance to the station at 32nd Street opened for use.^[39]

In 1979, theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the space within the boundaries of the original station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark.^[5] The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.^[5][40] The original interiors were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[4]

Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardPelham Bay Park orParkchester(Grand Central–42nd Street) ← towardWoodlawn late nights(Grand Central–42nd Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ towardBrooklyn Bridge–City Hall(28th Street) → → towardNew Lots Avenue late nights(28th Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, 33rd Street has four tracks and twoside platforms. The6 stops here at all times,^[41] rush-hour and midday<6> trains stop here in the peak direction;^[41] and the4 stops here during late nights.^[42] The two express tracks are used by the 4 and5 trains during daytime hours.^[43] The station is betweenGrand Central–42nd Street to the north and28th Street to the south.^[44] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[5]: 4 [4]: 3} but later became 520 feet (160 m) long.^[39] The platform extensions are at the southern ends of the original platforms.^[45]: 35 Fixed platform barriers, which are intended to prevent commuters falling to the tracks, are positioned near the platform edges.^[46][47]

The express tracks stay level, while the local tracks slowly incline from south to north to allow for the easier deceleration of local trains. This results in a layout where the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station.^[48] North of the station, the two pairs of tracks in each direction separate into different tunnels because of the presence of theMurray Hill Tunnel, which runs under the center of this section of Park Avenue.^[43][8]: 5 As built, the tunnels were supposed to have been 17 feet (5.2 m) apart, but the northbound tunnel (to the east) was shifted eastward by another 21 feet (6.4 m) to accommodate a three-track connection from the original IRT subway north to the mainline Grand Central Terminal. There is a drainage pipe connecting the two tunnels between 37th and 38th Streets, as well as a cross-passage between 38th and 39th Streets.^[8]: 5

Faience plaque with eagle

Mosaic name tablet

Mosaic with number "33"

Lariat Seat Loops, the Art for Transit installation on the columns

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using acut-and-cover method.^[49]: 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.^{[4]: 3–4 [45]: 9} Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms containI-beam columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain columns with white glazed tiles. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support thejack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[4]: 3–4 [5]: 4 [45]: 9} The ceiling height varies, being about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level near the northern fare control areas, and lower in other portions of the station.^[4]: 5 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.^{[4]: 3–4 [45]: 9}

Thefare control areas are at platform level, and there is no crossover or crossunder between the platforms.^[4]: 4 The walls along the platforms near the fare control areas consist of a brickwainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, with bronze air vents along the wainscoting, and white glass tiles above. The platform walls are divided at 15-foot (4.6 m) intervals bybuff and green mosaic tilepilasters, or vertical bands. In the original portion of the station, each pilaster is topped by green faience plaques depicting eagles, an allusion to the former 71st Regiment Armory at Park Avenue and 33rd Street; the eagles hold blue and white shields containing the number "33". A cornice with yellow and brown vine and fretwork patterns runs atop these walls.^{[4]: 4–5 [5]: 8} The platform extensions contain tiles with the number "33" atop the pilasters. Mosaic plaques with the words "33rd St." are also spaced at various intervals on the walls.^[4]: 5 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[45]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor John H. Parry and faience contractorGrueby Faience Company.^[45]: 35 The ceilings of the northern fare control areas contain plaster molding.^{[4]: 4–5 [45]: 10}

The 1997 artwork at this station isLariat Seat Loops by James Garvey. These are composed of fourteen bronze loops surrounding the I-beam columns near the northern fare control areas, which are designed as handholds or seat rests.^[50][51][52]

According to Garvey, "the thick bronze bar ... resembles the lasso demonstration in a Will Rogers film clip".^[51] Garvey subsequently designedLariat Tapers, a similar artwork at theWall Street station, in 2011.^[53]

Each platform has exits to both 32nd and 33rd Streets. The northbound platform's exits are on the eastern side of Park Avenue while the southbound platform's exits are on the western side.^{[4]: 4 [54]} The street staircases contain relatively simple, modern steel railings like those seen at most New York City Subway stations.^[4]: 6

At 33rd Street, each control area contains two exits, one each to the north and south sides of 33rd Street. These exits are directly outside4 Park Avenue to the northwest,2 Park Avenue to the southwest,3 Park Avenue to the northeast, and 1 Park Avenue to the southeast.^[54] At 32nd Street, each control area contains two exits to the south side of that street.^{[4]: 4 [54]}

• Lee Stokey.Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography. 1994.ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0

Wikimedia Commons has media related to33rd Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IRT East Side Line: 33rd Street
• Station Reporter —4 Train
• Station Reporter —6 Train
• Forgotten NY —Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• MTA's Arts For Transit —33rd Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 32nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 33rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• downtown platform from Google Maps Street View

• Murray Hill, Manhattan
• IRT Lexington Avenue Line stations
• Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904
• 1904 establishments in New York City
• Park Avenue
• New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
• New York City interior landmarks

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