7 Avenue | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Station statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Address | Seventh Avenue & West 53rd Street New York, New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Borough | Manhattan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Midtown Manhattan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°45′47″N73°58′55″W / 40.762959°N 73.981891°W /40.762959; -73.981891 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division | B (IND)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line | IND Sixth Avenue Line IND Queens Boulevard Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | B D E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure | Underground | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Levels | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2island platforms (1 on each level) cross-platform interchange | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 (2 on each level) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | August 19, 1933; 92 years ago (1933-08-19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | notADA-accessible; accessibility planned | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessibility | Cross-platform wheelchair transfer available | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former/other names | Seventh Avenue–53rd Street | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 4,291,303[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 66 out of 423[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheSeventh Avenue station (announced asSeventh Avenue–53rd Street on NTT trains) is an interchangestation on theIND Sixth Avenue Line and theIND Queens Boulevard Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection ofSeventh Avenue and 53rd Street inManhattan, it is served by theD andE trains at all times, and theB train on weekdays.
The Seventh Avenue station was constructed by theIndependent Subway System (IND), and it opened on August 19, 1933. The station has two tracks and oneisland platform on each of two levels.
The station is announced asSeventh Avenue–53rd Street, in the style of other stations that orient east-west along 53rd Street (such asFifth Avenue/53rd Street andLexington Avenue–53rd Street), as well as to prevent confusion withSeventh Avenue along theBMT Brighton Line in Brooklyn, which is also served by the B.
TheQueens Boulevard Line was one of the first built by the city-ownedIndependent Subway System (IND), and was planned to stretch between theIND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, with a stop at Seventh Avenue.[3][4] The line was first proposed in 1925.[5] Bids for the 53rd Street subway tunnel were received in October 1926,[6] and work started in April 1927.[7] The 53rd Street Tunnel was fully excavated between Queens and Manhattan in January 1929.[8]
The Seventh Avenue station was designed as an interchange point between service of theIND Queens Boulevard Line and theIND Sixth Avenue Line. The northern half of the station opened on August 19, 1933 with the opening of the IND Queens Boulevard Line toRoosevelt Avenue in Queens.[9] The southern half of the station opened on December 15, 1940 with the opening of the IND Sixth Avenue Line north ofWest Fourth Street to59th Street–Columbus Circle.[10]
In 1990, Utah tourist Brian Watkins was killed at the Seventh Avenue station while trying to protect his family from a robbery.[11] The murder was described as "probably the tipping point in New York's history of violence and mayhem",[12] marking a low point in the record murder year of 1990 and leading to an increased police presence in New York.[13] Eight people were indicted:[14] the first trial found four of the eight defendants guilty of murder,[15] and a second trial found three of the remaining four defendants to also be guilty.[13] One defendant was later cleared of murder charges.[16]
In 2019, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the station would becomeADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.[17] The announcement occurred after aConnecticut woman fell down a staircase trying to carry her 1-year-old daughter on a stroller down a flight of stairs; the baby survived the fall, but the mother died.[18][19] The accessibility project was to be funded bycongestion pricing in New York City, but it was postponed in June 2024 after the implementation of congestion pricing was delayed.[20]
| Ground | Street level | Exit/entrance |
| Mezzanine | Fare control, station agent, OMNY machines | |
| Upper level | Southbound | ← |
| Island platform | ||
| Southbound | ||
| Lower level | Northbound | |
| Island platform | ||
| Northbound | ← ← | |

This is a two-level station, with two tracks on each level and twoisland platforms, one over the other. The lower level serves trains headedrailroad north (toCentral Park West for trains from theIND Sixth Avenue Line, toQueens for trains from theIND Eighth Avenue Line). The upper level is the reverse, serving trains headed railroad south (towardLower Manhattan). Each level allowscross-platform interchange between the two lines. Trains run on thestarboard side on the upper level and on theport side on the lower level.[21]: 70 TheBMT Broadway Line passes overhead near the west end of the station; this crossing is visible in the ceiling and supporting columns.
TheD andE trains serve the station at all times,[22][23] while theB train serves the station on weekdays during the day.[24] The B and D trains use the Sixth Avenue Line tracks, and the E train uses the Queens Boulevard Line tracks. The next stops forE trains are50th Street to the south andFifth Avenue/53rd Street to the north, while the next stops forB and D trains are59th Street–Columbus Circle to the north and47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center to the south.[25]
The station serves two distinct subway lines that do not interconnect at the station. On the Sixth Avenue Line, uptown trains (heading west through the station) merge with theIND Eighth Avenue Line along Central Park West, while downtown trains (heading east through the station) run along the Sixth Avenue Line. On the Queens Boulevard Line, uptown trains (heading east through the station) go toQueens via the53rd Street Tunnel, while downtown trains (headed west through the station) merge with the Eighth Avenue Line south of50th Street. There is no way for trains to travel between Central Park West and Queens, or between the Sixth Avenue Line and the lower section of the Eighth Avenue Line. West of the station, the southbound Sixth Avenue Line track (internally labeled as track B3) rises above both Queens Boulevard Line tracks (D3 southbound and D4 northbound), which in turn are above the northbound Sixth Avenue Line track (B4).[21]: 70
This station has two main exits: one at the western end of the station at Broadway, and one in the middle of the station at Seventh Avenue. The western exit has staircases leading to the northeast and southeast corners of 53rd Street and Broadway. The middle exit has staircases leading to the northeast and southeast corners of 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue.[26]