81 Street–  Museum of Natural History  ​
Northwest entrance
Station statistics
Address	West 81st Street & Central Park West New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°46′55″N73°58′18″W / 40.781971°N 73.971763°W /40.781971; -73.971763
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,M79 SBS 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]
Accessible	notADA-accessible; currently undergoing renovations for ADA access
Traffic
2024	3,595,507[3]  1.8%
Rank	92 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 86th Street A  ​B  ​C  via145th Street Local 72nd Street A  ​B  ​C  via59th Street–Columbus Circle 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 to86th Street Superimposed tracks (right tracks above left) to72nd 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

The81st Street–Museum of Natural History station is a localstation on theIND Eighth Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. It is served by theB on weekdays, theC train at all times except nights, and theA train during late nights only.

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 79th Street (corresponding to theAmerican Museum of Natural History's main entrance).^[8]

The finishes at the five stations between 81st Street and110th Street were 18 percent completed by May 1930.^[9] By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the five stations from 81st to 110th Street were 99 percent completed.^[10] The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.^[11] A preview event for the new subway was hosted on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.^[12][13] The 81st 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.^[14][15] 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.^[16]

The station was renovated in 1998–2000, in coordination with the building of the newHayden Planetarium, within theRose Center for Earth and Space.^[17] The floors were replaced, new lighting was installed, the token booth was upgraded, and the walls and staircases were re-tiled. Structural improvements were also made during the renovation.^[17] In 2019, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[18]

A request for proposals was put out on May 18, 2023 for the contract for a project bundle to make 13 stations accessible, including 81st Street.^[19] The contract to add one elevator (street-to-northbound platform-to southbound platform outside fare control) at the station was awarded in December 2023.^[20]

The work would include upgrades to electrical systems and the removal or relocation of some artwork. By mid-2024, the work was expected to be completed by 2026.^[21]

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Basement 1	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound local	← weekdays towardBedford Park Boulevard or145th Street(86th Street) ← toward168th Street(86th Street) ← towardInwood–207th Street late nights(86th Street)
	Side platform
	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent,OMNY machines, entrance toAmerican Museum of Natural History
Basement 2	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ weekdays towardBrighton Beach(72nd Street) → → towardEuclid Avenue(72nd Street) → → towardFar Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights(72nd Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has four tracks and twoside platforms. On this section of the line, the local tracks are stacked, uptown above downtown, and the express tracks are stacked in the same order to the east of them, so both platforms are on the west side, one above the other. The station is atCentral Park West and 81st Street, rather than the major crosstown79th Street, in order to accommodate theAmerican Museum of Natural History,^[22] which largely fills the area of what was once called the Manhattan Square. The 79th Street Transverse Road, throughCentral Park, exits the park here.

South of this station are storage/lay up tracks between the local and express tracks on each level. Both ends of the tracks merge with the express tracks, with switches to the local tracks.^[23][24]

There are two fare control areas, both on the upper platform. One is at the station's extreme south end, on Central Park West midblock between 77th and 81st Streets.^[25] From this fare control, a passageway leads to a staircase on the west side of Central Park West, just south of the American Museum of Natural History's front entrance.^[25] This fare control also has an underground entrance directly into the museum's lowest level.^[26] The other is at the station's north end, at Central Park West and West 81st Street. There is one staircase each to the northwest and southwest corners of the intersection.^[25]

In 1976, with funding from theExxon Corporation, this station, as well as three others citywide, received new "artfully humorous graffiti" murals and artwork.^[27] Local designer Mayers and Schiff received $5,000 to add murals of dinosaurs such as "Thesaurus Rex, the dinosaur that had a vocabulary of a thousand words" and "Elongatomus, an elongated critter that stretched from coast to coast whose pelvic remains support a highway interchange in Missouri."^[27]

As part of the 1998–2000 station renovation, a program of tilemosaics was undertaken, covering the stairs and platforms, extending to floor inlays. Stairwells evoke descending into the geologicalstrata of theEarth (at 81st Street) or into theOcean (79th Street). Many creatures are evoked in mosaic vignettes that punctuate the stretches of white tiled wall. Fossil casts seem to emerge from the tiles as though the subway platform itself were an excavation, which it actually is.^[28] Under theMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'sArts for Transit program, a mixed-media installation was created in 2000.^{[17][28][29][30]} Entitled"For Want of a Nail",^[29] named after the old proverb, it addresses the interconnections of entities that are as vast as a galaxy and as small as a single cell. Using ceramic tile, glass tile, glass mosaic, bronze relief, and granite as primary materials, the design team depicted the evolution of extinct, existing, and endangered life forms, fromsingle-celled organisms to the toweringT. rex dinosaur.^[28][31] It shows images and symbols ranging from the Earth's core, to the sea, the sky and the cosmos beyond. No artist has been identified in this group project.^[28][31]

The station has been featured in the 2002 filmMen in Black II. The station was also mentioned inNight at the Museum.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to81st Street – Museum of Natural History (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –81st Street — Museum of Natural History (8th Avenue)
• nycsubway.org –"For Want of a Nail" Artwork (MTA Arts for Transit) (1999)
• The Subway Nut –81st Street–Museum of Natural History pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit –81st Street–Museum of Natural History (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
• Corner of 81st Street and Central Park West subway entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Central Park West subway entrance in front of the American Museum of Natural History from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View

• Future accessible New York City Subway stations
• IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
• Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932
• American Museum of Natural History
• Upper West Side
• Central Park
• 1932 establishments in New York City

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