181st Street

The 181st Street station (signed as 181st Street–George Washington Bridge) is a station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times. Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the station opened on May 30, 1906, as part of the first subway, although the line had opened two months earlier and trains were skipping the station. It is one of three stations in the Fort George Mine Tunnel, which carries the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line under Washington Heights, and is 120 feet (37 m) below ground level. Due to the station's depth, the tunnel was blasted through the hillside; during the station's construction, a 300-ton boulder had killed 10 miners. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1948. The station was closed from December 2020 to November 2021 for elevator replacement. The 181st Street station contains two side platforms and two tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations as well as a ceiling vault. The platforms contain exits to 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. 181st Street is one of three New York City Subway stations that can be accessed only by elevators; however, the station's four elevators are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864, but development of what became the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts over the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899. The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway. The 181st Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 133rd Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 182nd Street. Work on this section was conducted by L. B. McCabe & Brother, who started building the tunnel segment on May 14, 1900. On that date, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at Broadway and 156th Street, one block south of the 157th Street station site. The 168th Street, 181st Street, and 191st Street stations were built as part of the Washington Heights Mine Tunnel (also known as the Fort George Tunnel), which stretches for over 2 miles (3.2 km). The tunnel was dug through the hard rock under Washington Heights, with work proceeding from either end as well as from construction shafts. Construction shafts were excavated at 168th and 181st Streets, and elevators were installed inside these construction shafts after the tunnel was completed. The tunnel was mined in the early morning to minimize disruption. Much of the rock was crushed for concrete, including the concrete floor. The rails and arched roof were laid using travelers that proceeded the length of the tunnel. During construction, on October 24, 1903, a 300-ton boulde

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