Feb
20
Spying the hidden gem of the East Side IRT
By
Riders of the 6 train can now comfortably view the City Hall stop. (Courtesy of flickr user psedie.)
For official purposes, the last stop on the downtown 6 train is the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall stop. It’s a four-track station and the last chance to switch to the downtown IRT trains into Brooklyn.
But at this stop, the 6 doesn’t just start back uptown. Instead, it turns around in a loop station that has lain dormant for over 60 years. This station, considered the most beautiful in the New York City subway, is the City Hall station. With its Gustavino arches and intricate chandeliers, it was the original starting point for the first line of the IRT in 1904.
The station went out of service because the gap between the train and platform grew too wide and because it is a mere 300 feet from the Brooklyn Bridge stop. While plans to reopen it as part of the Transit Museum were halted due to security concerns following the Sept. 11 attacks, for years, those in the know knew that a savvy rider could spy this station if they stayed on the 6 train as it made its curve along that tight loop.
While the automated announcements have long said that the Brooklyn Bridge is the last stop, riders could generally stay on the train provided they ask the transit workers or simply avoided them. It’s thrilling to see the dimly lit station come into view as the 6 crawls around the sharp curve.
Now, via Chuck Bennett’s excellent Tracker Blog comes the news that the MTA will no longer be calling the Brooklyn Bridge stop the “last stop”. Bennett writes:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the next stop on this train will be the Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall uptown platform. For your safety, please remain inside of the car until the train comes to a complete stop and the doors open.”
No more “last stop.”
So now, we’re not sneaking around the trains to spy the beautiful City Hall stop. Enjoy the view.
10 Responses to “Spying the hidden gem of the East Side IRT”
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[...] we can, as NY1 finally reported two weeks after I did, view the old City Hall stop from the 6 as it turns on that steep curve, but the Myrtle Ave. stop [...]
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[...] 6 runs from Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall (and around the City Hall loop) local up Lexington Ave. and then through the Bronx to Pelham Bay Park. It’s the local [...]
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[...] Museum received permission to reopen the station to tours, and a few months ago, the MTA started allowing customers to ride past it on the 6 train. Every few months, Transit Museum members can take the tour of the Crown Jewel of the subway [...]
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[...] we can, as NY1 finally reported two weeks after I did, view the old City Hall stop from the 6 as it turns on that steep curve, but the Myrtle Ave. stop [...]
Can’t wait to check it out. Hope the train moves in slo-mo.
This is great news for a goody-two-shoes like me who didn’t want to try to talk her way out of getting off the train. I’m really looking forward to seeing this station.
Hey, Ben, “Thanks” for the “411″ on this “Extra Added Attraction” on my next ride on the 6. Seriously, I will check it out and – like the other comment above – I hope the train takes this turn through this Old Station really slowly.
I was riding the train through the loop yesterday. What I was very dissapointed was, was the fact that the station was dimly lit and there is a very bad photo – op. I hope that they could light the station up so we can see the Jewel of the System, even if it is closed.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be consistent. I was in NYC for the Independence Day weekend, and the announcements at the official end of the 6 line were very much of the “get off the train now” type. I did hear the “next stop will be the uptown platform” announcement, but it was surrounded by “all passengers must get off the train” announcements — including at least one by the conductor.
I sat on the 6 train in 2007 after it passed City Hall, and an MTA employee saw me. She was pretty pissed, but seemed to have thought that I was a stupid tourist that got confused.