79 Street
View from northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 79th Street & Broadway New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°47′02″N73°58′48″W / 40.784°N 73.98°W /40.784; -73.98
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​  2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M79 SBS,M104[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 121 years ago (1904-10-27)[3]
Traffic
2024	3,207,507[4]  8.9%
Rank	102 out of 423[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 86th Street 1  ​2  towardVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local 72nd Street 1  ​2  towardSouth Ferry 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 to72nd Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only
79th 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.	04001018[5]
NYCL No.	1096
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004
Designated NYCL	October 23, 1979[6]

The79th Street station is a localstation on theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection of79th Street andBroadway on theUpper West Side ofManhattan, it is served by the1 train at all times and the2 train during late nights.

The 79th 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 79th Street station began on August 22 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's platforms have been lengthened since opening.

The 79th 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, although most of the original design has been replaced with a cinder block design. The platforms contain exits to 79th Street and Broadway and are not connected to each other withinfare control. The remaining portion of the original station interior is aNew York City designated landmark and listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

Planning for asubway line inNew York City dates to 1864.^[7]: 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.^{[7]: 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.^[6]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[7]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[7]: 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,^[8] under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[7]: 165 In 1901, the firm ofHeins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[6]: 4 Belmont incorporated theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[7]: 182

The 79th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now theBroadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 60th Street to 82nd Street, for which work had begun on August 22, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to William Bradley.^[8] 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.^{[7]: 186 [9]} The 79th 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 the West Side Branch.^{[3][7]: 186} The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the 79th Street station, helped contribute to the development of the Upper West Side.^[5]: 9The Apthorp apartment building, just outside one of the station's exits, was built in anticipation of the 79th Street station's opening.^[10]

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[11] 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).^[12]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[13]: 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.^[14]: 15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 79th 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.^[14]: 111 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[13]: 168 The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south ofTimes Square–42nd Street in 1918, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. The original subway north of Times Square thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, and all local trains were sent to South Ferry.^[15]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million (equivalent to $56,355,865 in 2024) project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 79th Street and five other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[16][17] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million (equivalent to $103,348,438 in 2024).^[18][19]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[20][21] The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of"R-type" rolling stock, which containedrollsigns with numbered designations for each service.^[22] The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the1 and the Lenox Avenue route as the3.^[23]

The original IRT stations north of Times Square could barely fit local trains of five or six cars depending on the configuration of the trains. Stations on the line from50th Street to96th Street, including this station but excluding the91st Street station, had their platforms extended in the 1950s to accommodate ten-car trains as part of a $100 million (equivalent to $1,078,652,968 in 2024) rebuilding program.^[24] The contract to extend the platforms at 79th Street and 86th Street was awarded to Delma Engineering Corporation for $1,867,705 in 1957 (equivalent to $20,910,000 in 2024).^[25] The platform extensions at the local stations were completed by early 1958.^[24] Once the project was completed, all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express, and eight-car local trains began operation. Increased and lengthened service was implemented during peak hours on the 1 train on February 6, 1959.^[26] Due to the lengthening of the platforms at86th Street and 96th Street, the intermediate 91st Street station was closed on February 2, 1959, because it was too close to the other two stations.^[27][24]

In November 1959, the Warshaw Construction Company received a contract to remove fifteen entrance/exit kiosks on IRT lines, including two at the 79th Street station. This was part of a citywide initiative to remove the kiosks, which obstructed motorists' views of pedestrians.^[28] On June 28, 1964, theNew York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) awarded a contract to construct additional entrances at the station to Delma Engineering Corporation for $212,874 (equivalent to $2,158,204 in 2024).^[29] Work on the project was still underway in 1967.^[30]

In April 1988,^[31] the NYCTA unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of askip-stop service: the9 train.^[32] When skip-stop service started in 1989, it was only implemented north of137th Street–City College on weekdays, and 79th Street was served by both the 1 and the 9.^[33][34][35] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.^[36][37]

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.^[6] The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.^[6][38] The original interiors were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[5] The southbound platform was closed for structural work in February 2024, followed by the northbound platform in March 2024.^[39]

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street(86th Street) ← towardWakefield–241st Street late nights(86th Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ towardSouth Ferry(72nd Street) → → towardFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights(72nd Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, 79th Street has four tracks and twoside platforms.^[40] The station is served by the1 at all times^[41] and by the2 during late nights;^[42] the center express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the3 train at all times.^[42][43] The station is between86th Street to the north and72nd Street to the south.^[44] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[6]: 4 [5]: 3 [45]: 8} but as a result of the 1958–1959 platform extension, became 525 feet (160 m) long.^[5]: 17 The station was also originally 55.5 feet (16.9 m) wide.^[5]: 3

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using acut-and-cover method.^[46]: 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.^{[5]: 3–4 [45]: 9} Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-ironDoric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions containI-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support thejack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[5]: 3–4 [6]: 4 [45]: 9} The ceiling height varies based on whether there are utilities in the ceiling; the areas without utilities is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level. 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.^{[5]: 3–4 [45]: 9}

Thefare control areas are at platform level, and there is no crossover or crossunder between the platforms.^[5]: 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 salmon tilepilasters, or vertical bands. There are tiled plaques about halfway up each pilaster, with the number "79" in white-on-green tile, and buff-and-salmon foliate designs around them. Atop each pilaster are buff faience plaques depicting two cornucopias around a shield. A cornice withegg-and-dart patterns atop bead-and-reel moldings run atop these walls.^{[5]: 4–5 [6]: 9} 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 Alfred Boote Company and faience contractor Rookwood Pottery Company.^[45]: 37 The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.^{[5]: 4–5 [45]: 10} The section of the ceiling north of the fare control area is smooth, and the section south of fare control is composed of segmental vaults supported by the center columns.^[5]: 3–4

The remainders of both platforms have cream-colored tiles and a salmon trim line with "79TH ST" written on it in blackSans Serif font at regular intervals. These tiles were installed during the late 1950s renovation.^[47][48]

The southbound platform is fully staffed, containing aturnstile bank, token booth, staircase going up to the northwest corner of West 79th Street and Broadway, and passageway separated from the platform by a steel fence leading to a staircase that goes up to the southwest corner of the intersection. This passageway has aHigh Entry-Exit Turnstile to the platform, with walls made of cinder block tiles.^{[5]: 4–5, 17 [49]}

The northbound platform's fare control is unstaffed, containing a turnstile bank, now-closed customer assistance booth, staircase going up to the southeast corner of West 79th Street and Broadway, and passageway separated from the platform by a steel fence leading to a staircase that goes up to the northeast corner of the intersection. This passageway has a High Exit-Only Turnstile to the platform, with walls made of cinder block tiles.^{[5]: 4–5, 17 [49]} The street staircases on both sides contain relatively simple, modern steel railings like those seen at most New York City Subway stations.^[5]: 5–6

Wikimedia Commons has media related to79th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IRT West Side Line: 79th Street
• Forgotten NY –Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations (Part 2)

• 1904 establishments in New York City
• Broadway (Manhattan)
• IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations
• New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
• New York City interior landmarks
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904
• Upper West Side

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