72 Street  ​
R46C train arriving on the upper level
Station statistics
Address	West 72nd Street & Central Park West New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°46′34″N73°58′34″W / 40.776154°N 73.976011°W /40.776154; -73.976011
Division	B (IND)[1]
Line	IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (late nights) ​  B  (weekdays during the day) ​  C  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M10,M72 MTA Bus:BxM2
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	2side platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932 (93 years ago) (1932-09-10)[2]
Closed	May 7, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-05-07) (reconstruction)
Rebuilt	October 4, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-10-04)
Traffic
2024	2,651,985[3]  13.2%
Rank	133 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 81st Street–Museum of Natural History A  ​B  ​C  via145th Street Local 59th Street–Columbus Circle A  ​B  ​C  services split does not stop here
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to81st Street Superimposed tracks (right tracks above left) to59th Street Upper level Lower level
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays during the day

The72nd Street station is a localstation on theIND Eighth Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. It is located at72nd Street andCentral Park West on theUpper West Side. It is served by theB on weekdays, theC train at all times except nights, and theA train during late nights only.

The Eighth Avenue Line station was built for theIndependent Subway System (IND) and opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the IND's first segment. The station was renovated in 2018.

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.^[4][5] On December 9, 1924, theNew York City Board of Transportation (BOT) gave preliminary approval for the construction of theIND Eighth Avenue Line.^[6] This line consisted of a corridor connectingInwood, Manhattan, toDowntown Brooklyn, running largely underEighth Avenue but also parallelingGreenwich Avenue andSixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan.^[6][7] The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with a local station at 70th Street.^[8]

In October 1928, the BOT awarded a $444,000 (equivalent to $8,130,535 in 2024) contract to Charles Mead & Co. for the completion of the50th Street,59th Street, and 72nd Street stations on the Eighth Avenue Line.^[9] The finishes at the three stations were 20 percent completed by May 1930.^[10] By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the three stations from 50th to 72nd Street were 99.9 percent completed.^[11] The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.^[12]

A preview event for the new subway was hosted on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.^[13][14] The 72nd 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.^[15][16] Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $4,406.5 million in 2024). While theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided parallel service, the new Eighth Avenue subway via Central Park West provided an alternative route.^[17]

Under the 2015–2019Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Plan, the station underwent a complete overhaul as part of theEnhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for several months. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps.^[18][19] A request for proposals for the 72nd Street,86th Street,Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, and163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue stations was issued on June 1, 2017,^[20] and the New York City Transit and Bus Committee officially recommended that the MTA Board award the $111 million (equivalent to $142,389,221 in 2024) contract to ECCO III Enterprises in October 2017.^[21] As part of the renovations, the station was closed from May 7, 2018,^[22] to October 4, 2018.^[23]

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Basement 1	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound local	← weekdays towardBedford Park Boulevard or145th Street(81st Street–Museum of Natural History) ← toward168th Street(81st Street–Museum of Natural History) ← towardInwood–207th Street late nights(81st Street–Museum of Natural History)
	Side platform
	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent,MetroCard andOMNY machines
Basement 2	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ weekdays towardBrighton Beach(59th Street–Columbus Circle) → → towardEuclid Avenue(59th Street–Columbus Circle) → → towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights(59th Street–Columbus Circle) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two levels, each of which has from west to east, oneside platform, one local track and one express track. Northbound trains stop on the upper level while southbound trains stop on the lower level.^[24]

Both platforms lack a trim line, but have mosaic name tablets reading "72ND ST." in whitesans-serif lettering on a midnight blue background and black border, as well as small "72" tile captions in white numbering on a black background at regular intervals.^[25] Directional signs in white lettering on a black background are below the name tablets.^[26] Mosaic signs in white lettering on a blue background on the upper level direct passengers to the staircases going down to the lower level.^[27] Grey (previously blue) I-beam columns run along the platforms at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

72nd Street is the closest station to boththe Dakota apartment building (which is immediately outside the station) and theStrawberry Fields memorial inCentral Park.^[28][29] The 2018 artwork at this station is "Sky" by the multimedia artistYoko Ono, who lived in the Dakota. The ceramic artwork consists of clouds against a blue backdrop. "Sky" commemorates Ono's husbandJohn Lennon, who waskilled in 1980 outside the Dakota.^[30][28]

Entrance at 72nd Street following the renovations

Closed 71st Street entrance

Both fare control areas are on the upper-level platform and two staircases, one adjacent to each area, go down to the lower level. The full-time one at 72nd Street is at the north end of the platform.^[29] A staircase of four steps go down to a bank of threeturnstiles that lead to a token booth. The other fare control area at 70th Street, at the station's south end, remains unstaffed after renovations, but now contains standard turnstiles instead ofHigh Entry/Exit Turnstiles.

Two staircases connect the two platforms, one at each fare control area, and one more used to connect the platforms in the center of the station. There are staircases to both western corners of West 72nd Street and Central Park West. The northwest staircase, outside the Dakota apartment building, is made of stone and is embedded within the Dakota's recessed areaway.^[31] In addition, there is an entrance to the southwestern corner of West 70th Street and Central Park West.^[29] This entrance had previously been closed,^[32] but reopened in September 2002.^[33][34]

Blue plywood walls and new tiling with a door^[35] on the upper level indicate there was a third exit that led to West 71st Street.^[36][37] Prior to the renovation of the station, further evidence of this exit's existence included directional signs with "71" that were covered or replaced with newer tiling and a fenced off staircase on the lower level.^[38][39] During the renovation of the station, the exit and its accompanying staircase between the two platform levels was temporarily uncovered and used as an area to haul outconstruction debris; the street staircase has since been re-sealed and the staircase between the two platform levels was closed again.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to72nd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IND Eighth Avenue Line: 72nd Street
• Station Reporter —B Train
• Station Reporter —C Train
• 72nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 70th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Upper platform from Google Maps Street View

• IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
• Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932
• Upper West Side
• Central Park
• 1932 establishments in New York City

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