59th Street–Columbus Circle

The 59th Street–Columbus Circle station is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IND Eighth Avenue Line. It is located at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, where 59th Street, Broadway and Eighth Avenue intersect, and serves Central Park, the Upper West Side, Hell's Kitchen, and Midtown Manhattan. The station is served by the 1, A, and D trains at all times; the C train except at night; the B train only on weekdays during the day; and the 2 train during late nights. The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and was a local station on the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The Eighth Avenue Line station was built as an express station for the Independent Subway System (IND) and opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the IND's first segment. The complex was renovated in the 2000s, following unsuccessful attempts to raise money for such a restoration during the late 20th century. The IRT station has two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The IND station has three island platforms and four tracks, but only two of the platforms are in use. The transfer between the IRT platforms and the IND platforms has been within fare control since July 1, 1948. The station complex contains elevators, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. There is also a New York City Police Department (NYPD) transit precinct at the station. The original portion of the IRT station's interior is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2019, the station is the eighth-busiest in the system.

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 59th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 60th Street to 82nd Street, for which work had begun on August 22, 1900. These sections had been awarded to William Bradley. The section of tunnel near Columbus Circle had been completed by late 1901. At the time, the uptown platform was planned to be named 60th Street, while the downtown platform was to be named 59th Street. On March 14, 1903, the 59th Street station hosted a ceremony in which mayor Seth Low drove the first spike for the IRT subway's first track. By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening. The 59th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 s

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