View source for 59th Street–Columbus Circle station

{{Short description|New York City Subway station in Manhattan}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = 59 Street–Columbus Circle
| type = complex
| image = BwyWalk0505 StationColumbusCircle.jpg
| image_caption = Station entrance north of Columbus Circle
| address = Intersection of West 59th Street, Eighth Avenue &amp; Broadway<br />New York, New York
| service = Columbus Circle
| service_header = Columbus Circle header
| connection = {{bus icon}} [[NYCT Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|M5|M7|M10|M12|M20|M104}}<br />{{bus icon}} [[MTA Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|BxM2}}
| division = IRT/IND
| line = [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]]<br />[[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]
| borough = [[Manhattan]]
| locale = [[Columbus Circle]], [[Midtown Manhattan]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|46|05|N|73|58|55|W|display=inline,title}}
| open_date = IRT station: {{start date and age|1904|10|27}}<br />IND station: {{start date and age|1932|09|10}}<br />Transfer: {{start date and age|1948|07|01}}
| levels = 2
| accessible = yes
| acc_note =
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}{{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|nightsonly}}{{NYCS infobox legend|weekdaysonly}}
|alt=One of the entrances to the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station, located in a sunken plaza with trees inside it. There is a sign on a gray fence next to the entrance. The sign contains the text "59 Street–Columbus Circle Subway Station" and the icons of the "A", "C", "B", "D", and "1" trains.}}
The '''59th Street–Columbus Circle station''' is a [[New York City Subway]] [[metro station|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 (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]] intersect, and serves [[Central Park]], the [[Upper West Side]], [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]], and [[Midtown Manhattan]]. The station is served by the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]], [[A (New York City Subway service)|A]], and [[D (New York City Subway service)|D]] trains at all times; the [[C (New York City Subway service)|C]] train at all times except late nights; the [[B (New York City Subway service)|B]] train during weekdays until 11:00&nbsp;p.m.; and the [[2 (New York City Subway service)|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 [[Early history of the IRT subway|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 platform]]s and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The IND station has three [[island platform]]s 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]]. 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.<ref name="2016-rider">{{NYCS const|riderref}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Original IRT subway ===
==== Construction and opening ====
[[File:Columbus Circle IRT 003.JPG|thumb|left|IRT station's name in mosaics|alt=A mosaic plaque on the IRT platform with the words "Columbus Circle" in capital letters, surrounded by orange-tinted tiles. There is a white tiled wall below the plaque.]]
Planning for a [[rapid transit|subway]] line in [[New York City]] dates to 1864.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|21}} However, development of what would become the [[Early history of the IRT subway|city's first subway line]] did not start until 1894, when the [[New York State Legislature]] passed the Rapid Transit Act.<ref name="Walker 1918">{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=James Blaine |url=https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsrapid00walkgoog |title=Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917 |date=1918 |publisher=Law Printing |location=New York, N.Y. |access-date=November 6, 2016}}</ref>{{Rp|139–140}} 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]].<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|3}} A plan was formally adopted in 1897,<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|148}} and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|161}} 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,<ref name="Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners 1905">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022794253/page/n253/mode/2up?q=april+28 |title=Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor |publisher=Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners |year=1905 |pages=229–236}}</ref> under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|165}} In 1901, the firm of [[Heins & LaFarge]] was hired to design the underground stations.<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|4}} Belmont incorporated the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|182}}
The 59th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line|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.<ref name="Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners 1905" /> 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.<ref name="p571019619">{{cite news |date=November 24, 1901 |title=Trying to Beat the Snow: Subway Contractors Hastening Work in Fifty-ninth-st. |page=B14 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571019619}}}}</ref> 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.<ref name="p571228224">{{cite news |date=March 15, 1903 |title=Mayor Drives Spike: First in Subway Track the Municipal Aim True at Columbus Circle Ceremony Mayor Low About to Drive the First Spike on the Subway Road |page=1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571228224}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1903 |title=Mayor Low Drives Subway Silver Spike; First Rail of the Underground Road Fastened Down. Formal Ceremony at the Circle Station Underneath the Columbus Statue -- City Officials, Contractors, and Engineers Present. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/mayor-low-drives-subway-silver-spike-first-rail-of-the-underground.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620223932/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/mayor-low-drives-subway-silver-spike-first-rail-of-the-underground.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the [[IRT Powerhouse]] and the system's [[electrical substation]]s were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|186}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1903 |title=First of Subway Tests; West Side Experimental Trains to be Run by Jan. 1 Broadway Tunnel Tracks Laid, Except on Three Little Sections, to 104th Street -- Power House Delays. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/14/archives/first-of-subway-tests-west-side-experimental-trains-to-be-run-by.html |access-date=May 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505030752/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/14/archives/first-of-subway-tests-west-side-experimental-trains-to-be-run-by.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
The 59th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from [[City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|City Hall]] to [[145th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|145th Street]] on the West Side Branch.<ref name="145th" /><ref name="Walker 1918"/>{{Rp|186}} The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the 59th Street station, helped contribute to the development of Columbus Circle and the Upper West Side.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|9}}
==== Operation ====
[[File:Columbus Circle IRT 006.JPG|thumb|Original cartouche featuring Columbus's ship the ''[[Santa María (ship)|Santa Maria]]''|alt=Original cartouche on the IRT platform, depicting Christopher Columbus's ship, the "Santa Maria". The cartouche is surrounded by a green carving.]]
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the [[New York Public Service Commission]] (PSC) proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.<ref name="HAER Impact">{{cite web |last=Hood |first=Clifton |date=1978 |title=The Impact of the IRT in New York City |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=146–207 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>{{Rp|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 ${{inflation|fmt=c|index=US|value=1.5|start_year=1910|r=1}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US}}) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to ${{inflation|fmt=c|index=US|value=0.5|start_year=1910|r=1}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US}}) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.<ref name="Report 1911">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&q=+zoological+station&pg=PA596 |title=Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910 |date=1911 |publisher=Public Service Commission |language=en |access-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120015525/https://books.google.com/books?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&q=%20zoological%20station&pg=PA596 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|15}} Platforms at local stations, such as the 59th Street&ndash;Columbus Circle station, were lengthened by between {{cvt|20|and|30|ft}}. The northbound platform was extended to the south, while the southbound platform was extended to the north and south.<ref name="Report 1911" />{{rp|110}} Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.<ref name="HAER Impact" />{{Rp|168}}
As early as March 1914, local business owners and workers began advocating for the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station to be converted into an express stop.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1914 |title=Express Stop for Columbus Circle; McCall Announces at Hearing That He Favors Putting New Subway Station There. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/21/archives/express-stop-for-columbus-circle-mccall-announces-at-hearing-that.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230645/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/21/archives/express-stop-for-columbus-circle-mccall-announces-at-hearing-that.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1914 |title=Columbus Circlers Happy |pages=5 |work=The Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123702/columbus-circlers-happy/ |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230646/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123702/columbus-circlers-happy/ |url-status=live}}</ref> That August, the PSC published a report outlining two alternatives for the station's conversion. The first option called for building a mezzanine under the tracks and relocating the platforms, while the other option called for lowering the tracks and erecting a new mezzanine above.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1914 |title=For Subway Express Stop; Two Plans for Columbus Circle Change ;- Lexington Avenue Veto. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/02/archives/for-subway-express-stop-two-plans-for-columbus-circle-change.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230646/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/02/archives/for-subway-express-stop-two-plans-for-columbus-circle-change.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 3, 1914 |title=Twenty-mile Ride for Only a Nickel |pages=12 |work=The Standard Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123656/twenty-mile-ride-for-only-a-nickel/ |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230643/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123656/twenty-mile-ride-for-only-a-nickel/ |url-status=live}}</ref> IRT president Theodore Shonts opposed the plan, saying that the plan was too costly. Such a conversion would require underpinning the [[Columbus Monument (New York City)|Columbus Monument]] directly above the station, as well as the relocation of a water main next to the subway line.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 30, 1914 |title=Opposes Express Stop; Might Require Underpinning Columbus Monument. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/09/30/archives/opposes-express-stop-might-require-underpinning-columbus-monument.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230643/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/09/30/archives/opposes-express-stop-might-require-underpinning-columbus-monument.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1915, the city awarded the PSC the right to build an entrance inside a building on the north side of Columbus Circle, replacing an entrance on the sidewalk.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1915 |title=Have Obtained Valuable Rights: Public Service Gets Free Many Station Entrances on New Routes Sixty Additional Contracts Pending Agreements Also Include Stairway and Beam Rights for Dual Subway |pages=34 |work=New-York Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123973/have-obtained-valuable-rights/ |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620230645/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104123973/have-obtained-valuable-rights/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
The Broadway Association recommended in mid-1922 that a new entrance be built on the south side of Columbus Circle, since pedestrians had to cross heavy vehicular traffic in the circle.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 18, 1922 |title=Asks Facilities at Circle; Broadway Association Says Another Subway Entrance Is Needed. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/18/archives/asks-facilities-at-circle-broadway-association-says-another-subway.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621003434/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/18/archives/asks-facilities-at-circle-broadway-association-says-another-subway.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 59th Street and five other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from {{cvt|225|to|436|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 17, 1922 |title=33d Street to Be I.R.T. Express Stop; Reconstruction One of Many Station Improvements Ordered by Commission. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/12/17/archives/33d-street-to-be-irt-express-stop-reconstruction-one-of-many.html |access-date=June 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621003434/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/12/17/archives/33d-street-to-be-irt-express-stop-reconstruction-one-of-many.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p576721174">{{cite news |date=December 18, 1922 |title=$4,000,000 in Construction on I. R. T. Ordered: 33d St. on East Side Subway Will Be Express Stop; Local Stations to Have 10-Car Train Capacity Aim to Speed Service Improvements Will Relieve Congestion Along Both Routes. Board Believes |page=22 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|573974563}}}}</ref> The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 7, 1923 |title=Express Stop Plan Opposed by I.R.T.; Officials Say Money Is Not Available for Change at 33d Street Station. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/07/archives/express-stop-plan-opposed-by-irt-officials-say-money-is-not.html |access-date=June 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621154840/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/07/archives/express-stop-plan-opposed-by-irt-officials-say-money-is-not.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=p1237290874>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1237290874}} |title=I. R. T. Wins Delay At Subway Platform Extension Hearing: Transit Commission Head Tells Meeting Widening West Side Stations Would Increase Capacity 25 P. C |date=September 7, 1923 |page=6 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref>
=== IND expansion ===
New York City mayor [[John Francis Hylan]]'s original plans for the [[Independent Subway System]] (IND), proposed in 1922, included building over {{cvt|100|mi}} of new lines and taking over nearly {{cvt|100|mi}} of existing lines. The lines were designed to compete with the existing underground, surface, and elevated lines operated by the IRT and [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT).<ref>{{cite news |date=August 4, 1923 |title=Two Subway Routes Adopted by City |page=9 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/04/archives/two-subway-routes-adopted-by-city-estimate-board-accepts-wash.html |access-date=August 1, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 12, 1924 |title=Plans Now Ready to Start Subways |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/12/archives/plans-now-ready-to-start-subways-commission-notifies-city-it-can.html |access-date=August 1, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On December 9, 1924, the [[New York City Board of Transportation]] (BOT) gave preliminary approval to the construction of a subway line along Eighth Avenue, running from 207th Street.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 10, 1924 |title=Hylan Subway Plan Links Four Boroughs at $450,000,000 Cost |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/12/10/archives/hylan-subway-plan-links-four-boroughs-at-450000000-cost-manhattan.html |access-date=June 29, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021251/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/12/10/archives/hylan-subway-plan-links-four-boroughs-at-450000000-cost-manhattan.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Eighth Avenue Line station was originally planned to be located at 57th Street, with entrances extending up to 61st Street. By 1927, the IND station had been relocated to be nearer the IRT station, forming a major transit hub under Columbus Circle.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 24, 1927 |title=Plan Huge Centre of Subway Traffic; Transit Lines Will Build Dual Station at Columbus Circle Four Blocks in Length. 16 Entrances Proposed Growth of Section From 1905 to 1926 Is Indicated by Rise of 7,167,592 Fares. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/04/24/archives/plan-huge-centre-of-subway-traffic-transit-lines-will-build-dual.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006234915/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/04/24/archives/plan-huge-centre-of-subway-traffic-transit-lines-will-build-dual.html |archive-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with an express station at 58th Street.<ref name=p1113431477>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1113431477}} |title=Express and Local Stations For New Eighth Avenue Line |date=5 Feb 1928 |page=B1 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646}}</ref>
Though most of the Eighth Avenue Line was dug using a cheap [[cut-and-cover]] method, workers at 59th Street–Columbus Circle had to be careful to not disrupt the existing IRT line overhead.<ref name="Galloway. 1931">{{cite news |last=Warner |first=Arthur |date=November 22, 1931 |title=The City's New Underground Province; The Eighth Avenue Subway Will Be Not Only a Transit Line but a Centre for the Shopper A New Underground Province of New York The Eighth Avenue Subway Will Be a Rapid Transit Line With Innovations and Will Provide Centres for the Shoppers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/11/22/archives/the-citys-new-underground-province-the-eighth-avenue-subway-will-be.html |access-date=May 2, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503050550/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/11/22/archives/the-citys-new-underground-province-the-eighth-avenue-subway-will-be.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1113431484">{{cite news |last=Daly |first=William Jerome |date=February 5, 1928 |title=New Subway Work Far Advanced, From the Circle to 207th Street: Small Section Near St. Nicholas Avenue and 148th Street Being Constructed |page=B1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113431484}}}}</ref> Workers blasted out a portion of the station site, but they had to halt the work when an IRT train passed by.<ref name="Galloway. 1931" /> The Columbus Monument was shored up during the work.<ref name="p1113431484" /> The underpinning process was overseen by John H. Myers, the engineer who had been responsible for underpinning the monument during the construction of the IRT station.<ref name="p1114749813">{{cite news |last=Lynch |first=Denis Tilden |date=September 11, 1932 |title=Eighth Avenue Subway Clears Way for New Progress on West Side |page=J1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114749813}}}}</ref> In October 1928, the BOT awarded a $444,000 contract to Charles Mead & Co. for the completion of the [[50th Street station (IND lines)|50th Street]], 59th Street, and [[72nd Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|72nd Street]] stations on the Eighth Avenue Line.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 31, 1928 |title=Subway Awards Made; Contracts Let for Brooklyn and Bronx and for 8th Av. Stations. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/31/archives/subway-awards-made-contracts-let-for-brooklyn-and-bronx-and-for-8th.html |access-date=June 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621192651/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/31/archives/subway-awards-made-contracts-let-for-brooklyn-and-bronx-and-for-8th.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The finishes at the three stations were 20 percent completed by May 1930.<ref name="nyt-1930-05-26">{{Cite news |date=1930-05-26 |title=Progress is Rapid on 8th Av. Subway; Board's Engineers Report Spurt in Building Is Likely to Open the Line in July, 1930 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/26/archives/progress-is-rapid-on-8th-av-subway-boards-engineers-report-spurt-in.html |access-date=2023-04-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the three stations from 50th to 72nd Street were 99.9 percent completed.<ref name="nyt-1930-08-24">{{Cite news |date=1930-08-24 |title=Eighth Av. Subway Nearly Completed; Basic Construction Work From Chambers to 207th St. Done Except on Few Short Stretches |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/08/24/archives/eighth-av-subway-nearly-completed-basic-construction-work-from.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.<ref name="p1331181357">{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=John C. |date=9 Sep 1931 |title=8th Ave. Line Being Rushed For Use Jan. 1: Turnstile Installation on Subway Begins Monday; Other Equipment Ready for Start of Train Service City Has Yet to Find Operating Company Transit Official on Trip, 207th to Canal Street, Inspects Finished Tube |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1331181357}}}}</ref>
A preview event for the new subway was hosted at Columbus Circle on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1932 |title=Sightseers Invade New Subway When Barricade Is Lifted |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/sightseers-invade-new-subway-when-barricade-is-lifted.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701191612/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/sightseers-invade-new-subway-when-barricade-is-lifted.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1125436641">{{cite news |date=September 9, 1932 |title=8th Av. Subway Gets First 5c. by Woman's Error: She Peers Into a Station, Hears Train, Pays for Ride, but Is Day Too Early Preparing for Tomorrow's Rush on 8th Ave. Subway |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1125436641}}}}</ref> The Eighth Avenue Line station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated IND's initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line between [[Chambers Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Chambers Street]] and [[Inwood–207th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|207th Street]].<ref name="Chambers" /><ref name="p1114839882">{{cite news |last=Sebring |first=Lewis B. |date=10 Sep 1932 |title=Midnight Jam Opens City's New Subway: Turnstiles Click Into Action at 12:01 A. M. as Throngs Battle for Places in 'First' Trains Boy, 7, Leads Rush At 42d St. Station City at Last Hails 8th Ave. Line After 7-Year Wait; Cars Bigger, Clean Transit Commissioner Officially Opening New Subway at Midnight |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114839882}}}}</ref> There was a direct connection with the IRT station at Columbus Circle;<ref name="p1125436641" /><ref name="nyt-1932-09-09">{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1932 |title=City to Open Subway in 8th Av. Tonight; Crowds Visit Tube; First Line in Huge Municipal Network to Take First Nickel One Minute After Midnight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/city-to-open-subway-in-8th-av-tonight-crowds-visit-tube-first-line.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235819/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/city-to-open-subway-in-8th-av-tonight-crowds-visit-tube-first-line.html |url-status=live}}</ref> initially, passengers had to pay an additional fare to transfer between the IRT and the IND.<ref name="nyt-1932-09-09" /> The ''New York Herald Tribune'' described the 59th Street station as one of three "showplaces" on the new IND line, the others being the [[14th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|14th Street]] and [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|42nd Street]] stations.<ref name="p1114749813" /> The construction of the Eighth Avenue Line caused real-estate values along Eighth Avenue to increase by as much as 400&nbsp;percent.<ref name=p1113474993>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1113474993}} |title=Eighth Avenue Site Enhanced 400 Per Cent: Parcel Offered for $2,000 a Front Foot Seven Years Ago Now Worth $10,000 Great Changes Predicted Subway Under Construction Han Opened New Future |date=29 Jul 1928 |page=D2 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646}}</ref><ref name=nyt-1928-08-26>{{Cite news|date=1928-08-26|title=Eighth Av. Gradually Emerging From Its Chaotic Condition; New Pavement Likely to Be Finished by End of Year--Building Has Continued Active in Midtown Section Despite Upheaval Due to New Subway Construction. New Building Work. Sidewalk Paving. Big Advance in Values. Subway Work Progress.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/08/26/archives/eighth-av-gradually-emerging-from-its-chaotic-condition-new.html|access-date=2023-04-29|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> One developer predicted that the IND station's construction would spur development around Columbus Circle, similar to the development boom that had taken place around [[Times Square]] when the original IRT had been built.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 26, 1930 |title=Sees Business Trend to Columbus Circle; H.R. Hoffman Predicts Development There Will Be Similar toThat of Times Square. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/01/26/archives/sees-business-trend-to-columbus-circle-hr-hoffman-predicts.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701191614/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/01/26/archives/sees-business-trend-to-columbus-circle-hr-hoffman-predicts.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
Although the IND station was built with three [[island platforms]], the center platform (between the two express tracks) was not used for the first two decades of the station's operation. IND employees did use the center platform for musical performances during Christmas.<ref name="p1320053496">{{cite news |date=March 24, 1953 |title=IND 59th St. Center Platform To Be Open During Rush Hours |page=25 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1320053496}}}}</ref> In the 1930s, the [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA) proposed decorating the 59th Street station and other IND stations with murals.<ref name="p1222168348">{{cite news |date=November 29, 1936 |title=Art in Subways Goes Unnoticed By the Public: Some of Old Underground Stations Are Decorated With Picturesque Panels Stained Glass Is in One Old City Hall Stop Also Has Illuminated Bronzes |page=A7 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1222168348}}}}</ref> Supporters of the WPA's plan created a mockup of two murals for the 59th Street station in early 1939. One mural would have depicted a map of Manhattan's subway lines, flanked by "typical street scenes", while the other mural would have depicted Christopher Columbus, flanked by scenes depicting Central Park.<ref name="p1260508127">{{cite news |date=February 9, 1939 |title=Sponsors of Art for the Subway Back Up Their Case by Samples: Murals and Statues, 'Just the Thing' to Banish Transit Blues, Are Shown at City Hall; As for Delaney, He 'Just Doesn't Understand' Samples of Art; Proposed to Brighten Up the City's Subway Stations |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1260508127}}}}</ref> In addition, relief panels would have been placed above the stairways leading to the northbound and southbound platforms, respectively depicting personifications of winter and summer.<ref name="p1260508127" />
===Modifications and later changes===
====1940s and 1950s====
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1940 |title=City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/13/archives/city-transit-unity-is-now-a-reality-title-to-irt-lines-passes-to.html |access-date=May 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107193115/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/13/archives/city-transit-unity-is-now-a-reality-title-to-irt-lines-passes-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1248134780">{{cite news |date=June 13, 1940 |title=Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration |page=25 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1248134780}}}}</ref> A large sporting arena was then proposed for the western side of Columbus Circle in 1946, with a tunnel connecting directly to the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Egan |first=Leo |date=November 15, 1946 |title=New Sports Arena Will Seat 25,000; Project Proposed by Madison Square Garden for Columbus Circle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/11/15/archives/new-sports-arena-will-seat-25000-project-proposed-by-madison-square.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701215455/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/11/15/archives/new-sports-arena-will-seat-25000-project-proposed-by-madison-square.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1287145201">{{cite news |date=November 15, 1946 |title=$20,000,000 New 'Garden' Details Told: Convention Hall, Garage and Sport Arena Woult Be the World's Largest 4 Times the Space Of Present Garden 2-Block Building Would Roof Over 59th Street; City's Cost $1,240,000 Studying Plans for Proposed New Madison Square Garden Architects' Drawings of Projected New Garden Building |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1287145201}}}}</ref> The arena plan, originally envisioned as a replacement for [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]], ultimately evolved into the [[New York Coliseum]] convention center.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 25, 1949 |title=New Sports Arena Seen Rising Here; Columbus Circle Coliseum Fund Is Forecast by Mayor After Agreement With Garden |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/25/archives/new-sports-arena-seen-rising-here-columbus-circle-coliseum-fund-is.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701215455/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/25/archives/new-sports-arena-seen-rising-here-columbus-circle-coliseum-fund-is.html |url-status=live}}</ref> As part of the unification of the New York City Subway system, the passageways between the IRT and IND stations were placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.<ref name=higher>{{Cite news |date=June 30, 1948 |title=Transfer Points Under Higher Fare; Board of Transportation Lists Stations and Intersections for Combined Rides |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/30/archives/transfer-points-under-higher-fare-board-of-transportation-lists.html |access-date=December 24, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209083206/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/30/archives/transfer-points-under-higher-fare-board-of-transportation-lists.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1327387636">{{cite news |date=30 June 1948 |title=List of Free and Pay Transfer Points |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327387636}}}}</ref> Later the same year, a candy store opened in the mezzanine of the 59th Street station, one of the first such stores approved in the subway system.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 17, 1948 |title=Candy Stores Open in the IND Subway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/17/archives/candy-stores-open-in-the-ind-subway.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701203905/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/17/archives/candy-stores-open-in-the-ind-subway.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
Starting on March 24, 1953, the IND station's center express platform was opened for passenger service during rush hours; express trains opened their doors on both sides in the peak direction only. Southbound trains served the center platform in the morning, and northbound trains served the platform in the afternoon. In addition, a loudspeaker system was installed at the IND station to help regulate passenger flow.<ref name="nyt-1953-03-24">{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1953 |title=IND To Speed Service at 59th St. Station |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/03/24/archives/ind-to-speed-service-at-59th-st-station.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701215606/https://www.nytimes.com/1953/03/24/archives/ind-to-speed-service-at-59th-st-station.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1320053496" /> Access to the center express platform was via seven staircases, which were closed during off-peak hours. This was the first time the center express platform had been used in regular service.<ref name="p1320053496" />
[[File:59th Street - Columbus Circle Middle Platform.JPG|thumb|Passageway between the two IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms via the center IND platform|alt=View of the center IND platform, between the two express tracks. There are fences on either side of the platform.]]
During the early 1950s, the [[New York City Transit Authority]] (NYCTA; now an agency of the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], or MTA) considered converting the IRT station to an express stop. This would serve the anticipated rise of ridership resulting from the Coliseum's completion and the expected redevelopment of the area.<ref name="Authority 1953" /><ref name="nyt-1954-01-18">{{Cite news |last=Ingalls |first=Leonard |date=January 18, 1954 |title=Plan for Subway Would End Snags at 4 Major Stops; Authority Asks Funds for Manhattan Projects -Presses Power Plant Sale |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/01/18/archives/plan-for-subway-would-end-snags-at-4-major-stops-authority-asks.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701215454/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/01/18/archives/plan-for-subway-would-end-snags-at-4-major-stops-authority-asks.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The conversion would entail constructing a separate island platform for express trains, similar to the arrangement at [[34th Street–Penn Station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|34th Street–Penn Station]], at a cost of $5 million. Additionally, a passageway would be built, connecting directly to the basement of the Coliseum.<ref name="nyt-1954-01-18" /> The NYCTA also considered converting the [[72nd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|72nd Street station]] to a local station.<ref name="Authority 1953">{{Cite book |last=Authority |first=New York City Transit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZDVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22the+lengthening%22 |title=Report |date=1953 |language=en |access-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171506/https://books.google.com/books?id=XZDVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22the+lengthening%22 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1954-01-18" /> In March 1955, the NYCTA approved contracts with engineering firms for the design and construction of four projects across the subway system, including the conversion of the 59th Street station.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levey |first=Stanley |date=March 11, 1955 |title=Transit Projects Stir Agency Feud; Plans for Four Subway Projects Stir Quarrel in Transit Board |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/11/archives/transit-projects-stir-agency-feud-plans-for-four-subway-projects.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311021215/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/11/archives/transit-projects-stir-agency-feud-plans-for-four-subway-projects.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1328111184">{{cite news |date=March 11, 1955 |title=Transit Authority to Hold Police Force at 852 Men |page=11 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1328111184}}}}</ref> Edwards, Kelcey and Beck was hired as consulting engineers for the station conversion, which never occurred.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrAjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22columbus+circle%22+%22express+station%22 |title=Minutes and Proceedings |date=1955 |publisher=New York City Transit Authority |pages=3, 254, 1457 |language=en |access-date=March 28, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511154032/https://books.google.com/books?id=MrAjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22columbus+circle%22+%22express+station%22 |url-status=live}}</ref> NYCTA chairman [[Charles L. Patterson]] suggested that the authority lengthen platforms at local stations along the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to accommodate eight-car local trains, rather than construct an express platform for the IRT at 59th Street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1956 |title=Patterson Revises His I.R.T. Proposal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/03/archives/patterson-revises-his-irt-proposal.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701215455/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/03/archives/patterson-revises-his-irt-proposal.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
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 from [[50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|50th Street]] to [[96th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|96th Street]], including this station but excluding the [[91st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|91st Street]] station, had their platforms extended in the 1950s to accommodate ten-car trains as part of a $100 million ({{Inflation|US|100000000|1959|fmt=eq}}) rebuilding program.<ref name="Issuu 2009" /> The joint venture of Rosoff Bros Inc. and Joseph Meltzer Associates Inc. received a contract to remodel the 50th Street, 59th Street, and [[66th Street–Lincoln Center station|66th Street]] stations<ref name="p1327014687">{{cite news |date=May 26, 1958 |title=West Side Subway Job Is Gaining: Station Project Months Ahead |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327014687}}}}</ref> in February 1957.<ref name="nyt-1958-05-10">{{Cite news |last=Katz |first=Ralph |date=May 10, 1958 |title=IRT To Complete Repairs in a Year; Broadway Express Will Be Modified and Stations Revamped by June |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/05/10/archives/irt-to-complete-repairs-in-a-year-broadway-express-will-be-modified.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235831/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/05/10/archives/irt-to-complete-repairs-in-a-year-broadway-express-will-be-modified.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The work was complicated by the fact that the contractors could not disrupt subway service or vehicular traffic during the platform-lengthening project.<ref name="p1327014687" /> The platform extensions at the local stations were completed by early 1958.<ref name="Issuu 2009">{{Cite journal |date=February 2009 |title=High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959 |url=https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2009-02-bulletin/1 |journal=The Bulletin |publisher=New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association |volume=52 |issue=2 |access-date=August 26, 2016 |via=Issuu |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916212657/https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2009-02-bulletin/1 |url-status=live}}</ref> Once the project was completed, eight-car local trains began operating on February 6, 1959.<ref name="The New York Times 1959">{{cite news |date=February 7, 1959 |title=Wagner Praises Modernized IRT — Mayor and Transit Authority Are Hailed as West Side Changes Take Effect |page=21 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/07/archives/wagner-praises-modernized-irt-mayor-and-transit-authority-are.html?_r=0 |access-date=November 6, 2016 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101082503/http://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/07/archives/wagner-praises-modernized-irt-mayor-and-transit-authority-are.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the lengthening of the platforms at [[86th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|86th 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/08/arts/my-manhattan-next-stop-subway-s-past.html |title=My Manhattan — Next Stop: Subway's Past |last=Aciman |first=Andre |date=January 8, 1999 |access-date=August 26, 2016 |issn=0362-4331 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828202733/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/08/arts/my-manhattan-next-stop-subway-s-past.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Issuu 2009" />
==== 1960s and 1970s ====
[[File:Columbus Circle IRT 002.JPG|thumb|Detailed view of the IRT station's ceiling. The original IRT station had been designated as a New York City landmark in 1978.|alt=Details of moldings on the IRT station's ceiling]]
In May 1960, the NYCTA approved businessman [[Huntington Hartford]]'s offer to redesign a subway entrance on Eighth Avenue and 58th Street, next to Hartford's new Gallery of Modern Art at [[2 Columbus Circle]]. Hartford funded the project, which was designed by the Gallery of Modern Art's architect, [[Edward Durell Stone]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 25, 1960 |title=Hartford Adds to Gifts: Bronze Railing for IND |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/25/archives/hartford-adds-to-gifts-bronze-railing-for-ind.html |access-date=June 24, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624211239/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/25/archives/hartford-adds-to-gifts-bronze-railing-for-ind.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A ''New York Times'' article attributed the development of the Coliseum and 2 Columbus Circle to the presence of the 59th Street station, which had increased the neighborhood's accessibility.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1962 |title=Builders Eye Columbus Circle; Area May Be Belle of the 60's; Land Prices Are Low |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/13/archives/builders-eye-columbus-circle-area-may-be-belle-of-the-60s-land.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235102/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/13/archives/builders-eye-columbus-circle-area-may-be-belle-of-the-60s-land.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Gulf and Western Building]] (now the [[Trump International Hotel and Tower (New York City)|Trump International Hotel and Tower]]) was constructed on the north side of the circle in the late 1960s.<ref name="p118225821">{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=September 22, 1968 |title=Odd-Shaped Plots Foster Ingenuity in Design |page=418 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|118225821}}}}</ref> As part of that project, a sunken circular plaza was built, with a large staircase leading to the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station and to the building's basement.<ref name="p118225821" /><ref name="p133360606">{{cite news |last=Ulman |first=Neil |date=October 17, 1969 |title=Builder's Nightmare: Putting Up Skyscraper In New York Can Prove Agonizing Experience A Strike, Labor Shortage Delay Tower's Completion And Send Costs Soaring Zooming Rents Ease Pain Builder's Nightmare: A New York Skyscraper Proves Tough Project |page=1 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133360606}}}}</ref> This plaza and entrance had been required as part of the building's construction.<ref name="p133360606" /> Though the station had a direct entrance to the Gulf and Western Building, it lacked similar connections to 2 Columbus Circle or the Coliseum.<ref name="p119210304">{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=March 21, 1971 |title=Rockefeller Center Growing Down: Under Rockefeller Center, Concourse Is Growing |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|119210304}}}}</ref>
By 1970, NYCTA officials ranked the Columbus Circle station as one of the twelve most congested places in the subway system, where trains suffered from significant delays due to overcrowding.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moran |first=Nancy |date=May 30, 1970 |title=12 Subway Bottlenecks Create Massive Delays Daily |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/30/archives/12-subway-bottlenecks-create-massive-delays-daily-de-kalb-ave-and.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235103/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/30/archives/12-subway-bottlenecks-create-massive-delays-daily-de-kalb-ave-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In March 1975, the NYCTA proposed renovating the 59th Street station as part of a six-year modernization program.<ref name="nyt-1975-03-24">{{Cite news |last=Burks |first=Edward C. |date=March 24, 1975 |title=Plans Outlined to Upgrade Subway and Bus Systems |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/24/archives/plans-outlined-to-upgrade-subway-and-bus-systems.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725184055/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/24/archives/plans-outlined-to-upgrade-subway-and-bus-systems.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, the [[Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority]] (TBTA), an MTA subsidiary that owned the Coliseum, spent $1 million on two escalators between the mezzanine and the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 58th Street. The installation included a {{cvt|40|by|45|ft|adj=on}} fiberglass canopy above the escalators, as well as a small garden at mezzanine level near the escalators.<ref name="nyt-1975-10-09">{{Cite news |date=October 9, 1975 |title=Escalators Installed By M. T. A. in Exit At Columbus Circle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/09/archives/escalators-installed-by-mta-in-exit-af-columbus-circle.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235102/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/09/archives/escalators-installed-by-mta-in-exit-af-columbus-circle.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The escalators opened in October 1975 and were intended largely for patients of the nearby [[Roosevelt Hospital (Manhattan)|Roosevelt Hospital]], but they initially were often out of service due to "repeated vandalism".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 5, 1975 |title=Repeated Vandalism Disables Escalators At Columbus Circle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/05/archives/repeated-vandalism-disables-escalators-at-columbus-circle.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235411/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/05/archives/repeated-vandalism-disables-escalators-at-columbus-circle.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The MTA announced in late 1978 that it would modernize the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station. The improvements included new finishes on the walls and floors; acoustical, signage, and lighting improvements; replacement of old mechanical equipment; and new handrails.<ref name="n28723663">{{Cite news |last=Edmonds |first=Richard |date=December 7, 1978 |title=Subway beautification has green light |pages=583 |work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/28723663/ |access-date=May 25, 2023}}</ref> In 1979, the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] designated the space within the boundaries of the original IRT station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark.<ref name="NYCL-1096" /> The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.<ref name="NYCL-1096" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1979 |title=12 IRT Subway Stops Get Landmark Status |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/27/archives/12-irt-subway-stops-get-landmark-status.html |access-date=December 26, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309164713/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/27/archives/12-irt-subway-stops-get-landmark-status.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
==== 1980s and 1990s ====
[[File:59th Street Columbus Circle station 1978.jpg|thumb|The uptown IRT platform in 1978|alt=Black and white image of the uptown IRT platform in 1978. There are lockers to the left and a clock hanging above the platform.]]
As part of a pilot program to reduce crime in the New York City Subway system, in May 1981, the MTA spent $500,000 on 76&nbsp;[[CCTV]] screens at the Columbus Circle subway station, monitored by the [[New York City Transit Police]]. Crime at the station increased in the year after the CCTV system was installed, but the Transit Police continued to use the CCTV system, and the MTA expanded the experiment to the [[Times Square–42nd Street station]].<ref name="nyt-1983-02-05">{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |date=February 5, 1983 |title=Crime in Subway Station Rises in Spite of TV Monitors |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/05/nyregion/crime-in-subway-station-rises-in-spite-of-tv-monitors.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425151920/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/05/nyregion/crime-in-subway-station-rises-in-spite-of-tv-monitors.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The cameras were deactivated in 1985 after further tests showed that their presence did not help reduce crime.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carmody |first=Deirdre |date=October 4, 1985 |title=Subway Anticrime TV Test Abandoned |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/04/nyregion/subway-anticrime-tv-test-abandoned.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124082102/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/04/nyregion/subway-anticrime-tv-test-abandoned.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The MTA considered transferring 220 CCTV cameras from these stations to token booths at the stations with the most crime.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gordy |first=Margaret |date=October 14, 1985 |title=TA Aim: Make Subways Unsafe For Muggers: Will Spend $22M To Upgrade Safety |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79044015/newsday/ 3], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79044000/newsday/ 19] |work=Newsday}}</ref>
The MTA announced in 1983 that it would renovate the Columbus Circle station as part of its capital program.<ref name="nyt-1983-04-28">{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |date=April 28, 1983 |title=M.T.A. Making Major Addition to Capital Plan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/28/world/mta-making-major-addition-to-capital-plan.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425151916/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/28/world/mta-making-major-addition-to-capital-plan.html |url-status=live}}</ref> To fund the renovation, the MTA placed the neighboring Coliseum for sale in 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Daley |first=Suzanne |date=December 21, 1984 |title=M.T.A. Approves Agreement with City to Permit Sale of Coliseum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/21/nyregion/mta-approves-agreement-with-city-to-permit-sale-of-coliseum.html |access-date=February 13, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214142050/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/21/nyregion/mta-approves-agreement-with-city-to-permit-sale-of-coliseum.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p895756076">{{Cite magazine |date=August 1, 1985 |title=Transit Update: New York transit gets $477 million from Coliseum sale |volume=186 |issue=8 |page=69 |id={{proQuest|895756076}} |magazine=Railway Age}}</ref> The next year, a [[joint venture]] of [[Boston Properties]] and Phibro-Salomon Inc. was selected to redevelop the site as part of the Columbus Center project.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Scardino |first1=Albert |last2=Finder |first2=Alan |date=July 14, 1985 |title=The Region; the Big Deal at Columbus Circle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/weekinreview/the-region-the-big-deal-at-columbus-circle.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126010747/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/weekinreview/the-region-the-big-deal-at-columbus-circle.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In exchange for a [[zoning]] bonus, the developers would have funded over $30 million in improvements to the station.<ref name="nyt-1987-12-08">{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=December 8, 1987 |title=Judge in New York Strikes Down Sale of Coliseum's Site |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/08/nyregion/judge-in-new-york-strikes-down-sale-of-coliseum-s-site.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831191113/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/08/nyregion/judge-in-new-york-strikes-down-sale-of-coliseum-s-site.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n104842548">{{Cite news |last=Moss |first=Michael |date=December 8, 1987 |title=Judge Voids Sale of Columbus Circle Site |pages=21 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104842548/judge-voids-sale-of-columbus-circle/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004928/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104842548/judge-voids-sale-of-columbus-circle/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The improvements would have included new elevators and escalators; rearranged entrances and staircases; wider platforms; a reconfigured mezzanine and [[fare control]] area; and an entrance into the basement of the proposed building.<ref name=p285356126>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|285356126}} |title=Builders' Bonus Draws New Fire; Critics Say Developer 'Abused' City Policy |first=Carol |last=Polsky |date=March 9, 1987 |page=9 |work=Newsday}}</ref> The MTA planned to remove most of the bas-relief plaques as part of a widening of the southbound platform, relocating two of these plaques above an escalator, though the LPC objected to the proposal.<ref name="nyt-1986-02-10">{{Cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Susan Heller |last2=Dunlap |first2=David W. |date=February 10, 1986 |title=New York Day by Day; An Ornamental Dispute Over a Subway Station |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-an-ornamental-dispute-over-a-subway-station.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203062340/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/10/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-an-ornamental-dispute-over-a-subway-station.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
The Coliseum sale was nullified in late 1987,<ref name="nyt-1987-12-08" /><ref name="n104842548" /> and Boston Properties presented a revised proposal for Columbus Center the next year, in which it would no longer fund improvements to the Columbus Circle station.<ref name="p278008786">{{cite news |last=Berkowitz |first=Harry |date=October 18, 1988 |title=A new plan for Columbus Circle building |page=39 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278008786}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Richard |date=June 3, 1988 |title=A New Plan Is Presented For Coliseum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/03/nyregion/a-new-plan-is-presented-for-coliseum.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073610/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/03/nyregion/a-new-plan-is-presented-for-coliseum.html |url-status=live}}</ref> To cover a funding shortfall for the Columbus Circle station's renovation, officials considered diverting $7.7 in million of funding from a proposed renovation of the [[Flushing–Main Street station (IRT Flushing Line)|Flushing–Main Street station]] in [[Queens]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Liff |first=Bob |date=December 15, 1989 |title=Boroughs Pan MTA Deferrals |pages=23 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104833320/boroughs-pan-mta-deferralsbob-liff/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004928/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104833320/boroughs-pan-mta-deferralsbob-liff/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A third plan for Columbus Center was presented in 1989.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chira |first=Susan |date=April 20, 1989 |title=3d and Smallest Coliseum Plan Greeted by Signs of Approval |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/20/nyregion/3d-and-smallest-coliseum-plan-greeted-by-signs-of-approval.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903002513/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/20/nyregion/3d-and-smallest-coliseum-plan-greeted-by-signs-of-approval.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Berkowitz 1989">{{Cite news |last=Berkowitz |first=Harry |date=April 20, 1989 |title=Accord on Columbus Circle |pages=3, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843532/ 41] |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843492/accord-on-columbus-circleharry/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004928/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843492/accord-on-columbus-circleharry/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This proposal included $12 million to $15 million for a renovation of the Columbus Circle station; Boston Properties, the city, and the MTA would each cover one-third of that amount.<ref name="Berkowitz 1989" />
By 1990, ''The New York Times'' described the station as "a haven for many homeless people", and the station had one of Manhattan's largest homeless populations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lorch |first=Donatella |date=January 23, 1990 |title=Man Held in Beating Death of Homeless Man After Subway Fight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/23/nyregion/man-held-in-beating-death-of-homeless-man-after-subway-fight.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525201820/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/23/nyregion/man-held-in-beating-death-of-homeless-man-after-subway-fight.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The renovation of the Columbus Circle station was to have been funded by the sale of the Coliseum, which continued to face delays.<ref name="n104843740">{{Cite news |last=Henican |first=Ellis |date=August 25, 1992 |title=Subway Windfall Nears Last Stop |pages=6, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843784/ 91] |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843740/subway-windfall-nears-last-stopellis/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004928/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104843740/subway-windfall-nears-last-stopellis/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Boston Properties withdrew from the Columbus Center project in 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Shawn G. |date=July 16, 1994 |title=At Deadline, Deal to Develop Site Of New York Coliseum Collapses |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/16/nyregion/at-deadline-deal-to-develop-site-of-new-york-coliseum-collapses.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903010833/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/16/nyregion/at-deadline-deal-to-develop-site-of-new-york-coliseum-collapses.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Planning for Columbus Center restarted in May 1996,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Perez-Pena |first=Richard |date=May 30, 1996 |title=Terms Are Set For Sale Of Coliseum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/30/nyregion/terms-are-set-for-sale-of-coliseum.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903010846/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/30/nyregion/terms-are-set-for-sale-of-coliseum.html |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and [[Time Warner]] and [[The Related Companies]] were selected to redevelop that site into the [[Deutsche Bank Center|Time Warner (now Deutsche Bank) Center]] in 1998.<ref name="p398677248">{{cite news |date=July 29, 1998 |title=Time Warner Group Wins Bid to Develop New York Coliseum |page=B5B |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398677248}}}}</ref> The development would include a refurbished subway entrance at 58th Street,<ref name="nyt-1998-09-06">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=September 6, 1998 |title=At Columbus Circle, A Circuitous Path To Columbus Centre |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/06/realestate/at-columbus-circle-a-circuitous-path-to-columbus-centre.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904002130/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/06/realestate/at-columbus-circle-a-circuitous-path-to-columbus-centre.html |url-status=live}}</ref> with an elevator to the mezzanine.<ref name="nyt-2002-09-26" /> However, Time Warner was not obligated to renovate the station, since it was not requesting a zoning bonus for its project.<ref name="nyt-2002-09-26" /> The city government simultaneously planned to renovate Columbus Circle itself.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=August 11, 1998 |title=Traffic on Columbus Circle Finally Comes, Well, Full Circle |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/11/nyregion/traffic-on-columbus-circle-finally-comes-well-full-circle.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016065926/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/11/nyregion/traffic-on-columbus-circle-finally-comes-well-full-circle.html |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> An entrance or skylight for the subway station was included in two proposals for the circle's reconstruction,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=February 15, 1998 |title=Architects' Designs Envision Columbus Circle as a Great City Crossroads |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/15/nyregion/architects-designs-envision-columbus-circle-as-a-great-city-crossroads.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527082024/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/15/nyregion/architects-designs-envision-columbus-circle-as-a-great-city-crossroads.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but the final plan did not include skylights or a new entrance.<ref name="nyt20050804">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 4, 2005 |title=An Island of Sanctuary in the Traffic Stream |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/nyregion/an-island-of-sanctuary-in-the-traffic-stream.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016015928/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/nyregion/an-island-of-sanctuary-in-the-traffic-stream.html |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==== 2000s to present ====
[[File:Turnstyle at Columbus Circle (26109472913).jpg|thumb|One of the station's entrances, which also leads to the TurnStyle retail complex|alt=An entrance to the station on 57th Street, which is painted orange. A bus and pedestrians are to the right of the entrance.]]
In 2002, as part of the construction of the nearby [[Hearst Tower (Manhattan)|Hearst Tower]], the [[Hearst Corporation]] proposed renovating the station in exchange for permission to include six more stories in its tower.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Denny |date=July 14, 2002 |title=Neighborhood Report: Clinton; Hearst Woos, and Wins, a Wary Neighborhood |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/14/nyregion/neighborhood-report-clinton-hearst-woos-and-wins-a-wary-neighborhood.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130130256/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/14/nyregion/neighborhood-report-clinton-hearst-woos-and-wins-a-wary-neighborhood.html |archive-date=January 30, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Hearst would fund the addition of three elevators: two to the IND and southbound IRT platforms and the third to the northbound IRT platform.<ref name="nyt-2002-09-26" /> In addition, the company would construct an entrance, add and relocate stairways, and relocate turnstiles.<ref name=nyt-2002-09-26>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=September 26, 2002 |title=Blocks; Trade-Offs and Reminders at 59th St. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/26/nyregion/blocks-trade-offs-and-reminders-at-59th-st.html |access-date=February 11, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905161625/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/26/nyregion/blocks-trade-offs-and-reminders-at-59th-st.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wright2005">{{cite magazine |last=Wright |first=Gordon |date=April 2005 |title=Building on Tradition |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=42–44, 46 |id={{ProQuest|211050578}} |journal=Building Design & Construction}}</ref> The IRT station's original interiors were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2004.<ref name="focus" /> A renovation of the station started in 2006;<ref name="Chan 2008" /> the project cost $125 million and included new elevators, artwork, entrances, and finishes.<ref name="Kadet 2018">{{cite web |last=Kadet |first=Anne |date=May 1, 2018 |title=This New York City Subway Station Gets Rave Reviews |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-new-york-city-subway-station-gets-rave-reviews-1525183201 |access-date=May 6, 2023 |website=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> As part of the project, two subway entrances opened at the northwest corner of 60th Street and Broadway in 2008, connecting with the downtown IRT platform.<ref name="Chan 2008">{{Cite news |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=July 17, 2008 |title=2 New Subway Entrances Open at Columbus Circle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/nyregion/17station.html |access-date=February 11, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523111247/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/nyregion/17station.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The IND station's unused express platform was converted to an underpass between the IRT platforms.<ref name="Young 2013">{{cite web |last=Young |first=Michelle |date=August 19, 2013 |title=10 of NYC's Abandoned and Incomplete Subway Platforms and Levels - Page 9 of 10 |url=https://untappedcities.com/2013/08/19/9-nyc-abandoned-incomplete-subway-platforms-levels/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Untapped New York |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031104159/https://untappedcities.com/2013/08/19/9-nyc-abandoned-incomplete-subway-platforms-levels/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dattner Architects]] and [[WSP Global]] designed the renovation,<ref name="Dattner Architects 2020">{{cite web |date=September 4, 2020 |title=Columbus Circle Station |url=https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/columbus-circle-station/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Dattner Architects |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512104825/https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/columbus-circle-station/ |url-status=live}}</ref> which was completed in 2012.<ref name="Chaban 2014">{{Cite news |last=Chaban |first=Matt A. V. |date=October 7, 2014 |title=In Depths of Columbus Circle, a Retail Hub Blooms |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/realestate/commercial/in-depths-of-columbus-circle-a-retail-hub-blooms.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521074147/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/realestate/commercial/in-depths-of-columbus-circle-a-retail-hub-blooms.html |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The MTA announced in early 2014 that it would convert a section of the mezzanine between 57th and 59th Streets into a retail complex called TurnStyle.<ref name="Edelson Edelson 2014">{{cite web |last=Edelson |first=Sharon |date=March 19, 2014 |title=Turnstyle to Bring Retail Underground at Columbus Circle |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/real-estate/turnstyle-to-bring-retail-underground-at-columbus-circle-7601284/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=WWD |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235413/https://wwd.com/business-news/real-estate/turnstyle-to-bring-retail-underground-at-columbus-circle-7601284/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Schram 2014">{{cite web |last=Schram |first=Lauren Elkies |date=March 19, 2014 |title=A Look Inside Columbus Circle's Underground Turn-Style Marketplace |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2014/03/a-look-inside-columbus-circles-turn-style/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=Commercial Observer |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235108/https://commercialobserver.com/2014/03/a-look-inside-columbus-circles-turn-style/ |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, the station was the seventh-busiest in the system.<ref name="Chaban 2014" /> According to MTA real-estate director Jeffrey Rosen, this was the first project where the MTA converted a portion of an older station to retail.<ref name="nyt-2016-03-23">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=March 23, 2016 |title=At Columbus Circle, a New Home for Underground Gourmets |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/nyregion/at-columbus-circle-a-new-home-for-underground-gourmets.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235411/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/nyregion/at-columbus-circle-a-new-home-for-underground-gourmets.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The MTA initially charged rents of {{cvt|275|to|425|$/ft2}}, about one-third the rate of similarly sized above-ground storefronts.<ref name="Chaban 2014" /><ref name="Casey 2014">{{cite web |last=Casey |first=Nell |date=October 8, 2014 |title=Subterranean Food Court Coming To Columbus Circle Subway Station |url=https://gothamist.com/food/subterranean-food-court-coming-to-columbus-circle-subway-station |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235412/https://gothamist.com/food/subterranean-food-court-coming-to-columbus-circle-subway-station |url-status=live}}</ref> The TurnStyle complex opened on April 18, 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kral |first=Georgia |date=April 19, 2016 |title=Inside TurnStyle, the food and retail hub under Columbus Circle |language=en |work=am New York |url=https://www.amny.com/eat-and-drink/turnstyle-columbus-circle-food-hall-and-retail-shops-open-in-subway-station-1.11708033 |url-status=live |access-date=November 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040123/https://www.amny.com/eat-and-drink/turnstyle-columbus-circle-food-hall-and-retail-shops-open-in-subway-station-1.11708033 |archive-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Rivoli 2016">{{cite web |last=Rivoli |first=Dan |date=April 19, 2016 |title=TurnStyle shopping corridor opens at Columbus Circle subway station |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/shopping-strip-opens-columbus-circle-subway-station-article-1.2607779 |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235104/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/shopping-strip-opens-columbus-circle-subway-station-article-1.2607779 |url-status=live}}</ref> TurnStyle's storefronts generally had a higher occupancy rate than those in the surrounding neighborhood;<ref name="Kadet 2018" /> the complex had a 90 percent occupancy rate by 2019, prompting the MTA to consider building similar malls in other stations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |date=September 17, 2019 |title=Train Delayed? Relax With a Bolivian Pastry and Bubble Tea |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/business/new-york-subway-retail.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235412/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/business/new-york-subway-retail.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The market was temporarily closed from March to October 2020 during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]], although half of the market's 39 storefronts closed permanently as a result of the pandemic.<ref name="ABC7 New York 2020">{{cite web |date=October 14, 2020 |title=Reopen New York City: MTA brings back Turnstyle Underground Market, proposes financial relief to tenants |url=https://abc7ny.com/turnstyle-underground-market-columbus-circle-mta-subway-stores/7026943/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=ABC7 New York |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423024823/https://abc7ny.com/turnstyle-underground-market-columbus-circle-mta-subway-stores/7026943/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CBS News 2020">{{cite web | title=Coronavirus Impact: Popular Columbus Circle Underground Market Attempting Climb Out Of Pandemic's Clutches | website=CBS News | date=October 15, 2020 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/turnstyle-underground-market-columbus-circle-manhattan-coronavirus-covid-19/ | access-date=June 11, 2023}}</ref> By 2024, only one of TurnStyle's original stores remained.<ref name=nyt-2024-07-07>{{Cite news|last=Haag|first=Matthew|date=2024-07-07|title=The Sad State of Underground Retail in New York City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/07/nyregion/mta-underground-retail.html|access-date=2024-07-08|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> That year, the escalator entrance at 58th Street was temporarily closed for structural repairs.<ref>{{cite web | last=Dias | first=John | title=Columbus Circle subway escalators estimated repair date set for end of the year | website=CBS New York | date=October 15, 2024 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/columbus-circle-subway-station-broken-escalators/ | access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref>
=== Service history ===
==== IRT station ====
The IRT's 59th Street–Columbus Circle station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from [[City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|City Hall]] to [[145th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|145th Street]] on the West Side Branch.<ref name="145th" /><ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|186}} After the first subway line was completed in 1908,<ref name="242nd">{{cite news |date=August 2, 1908 |title=Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now |page=10 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/02/archives/our-first-subway-completed-at-last-opening-of-the-van-cortlandt.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223112020/https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/02/archives/our-first-subway-completed-at-last-opening-of-the-van-cortlandt.html |archive-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to [[Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station|Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street]]) and East Side (now the [[IRT Lenox Avenue Line|Lenox Avenue Line]]). Local trains ran from City Hall to [[Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station|242nd Street]] in the Bronx during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to [[South Ferry (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|South Ferry]] at other times. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to [[145th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line)|Lenox Avenue (145th Street)]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081730503;view=1up;seq=151 |title=Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac |publisher=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |year=1916 |pages=119 |access-date=December 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511155639/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081730503;view=1up;seq=151 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |url-status=live|last1=Herries |first1=William }}</ref> The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of [[Times Square–42nd Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|Times 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.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 2, 1918 |title=Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/08/02/97011929.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803013952/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/08/02/97011929.pdf |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The IRT routes at the station were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of [[List of New York City Subway R-type contracts|"R-type" rolling stock]], which contained [[rollsign]]s with numbered designations for each service.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Nicole |date=May 17, 2019 |title=How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious |url=https://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-subway-name-1-31116195/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302020704/https://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-subway-name-1-31116195/ |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |access-date=January 27, 2021 |website=amNewYork}}</ref> The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]] and the Lenox Avenue route as the [[3 (New York City Subway service)|3]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Friedlander |first1=Alex |last2=Lonto |first2=Arthur |last3=Raudenbush |first3=Henry |date=April 1960 |title=A Summary of Services on the IRT Division, NYCTA |url=https://erausa.org/pdf/bulletin/1960/1960-01-bulletin.pdf |url-status=live |journal=New York Division Bulletin |publisher=Electric Railroaders' Association |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=2–3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914232631/https://erausa.org/pdf/bulletin/1960/1960-01-bulletin.pdf |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |access-date=January 27, 2021}}</ref> After the platforms at the station were lengthened in 1959, all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express, and eight-car local trains began operating. Increased and lengthened service was implemented during peak hours on the 1 train on February 6, 1959.<ref name="The New York Times 1959" /> In April 1988,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brozan |first=Nadine |date=June 4, 1989 |title='Skip-Stop' Subway Plan Annoys No. 1 Riders |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/nyregion/skip-stop-subway-plan-annoys-no-1-riders.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810125540/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/nyregion/skip-stop-subway-plan-annoys-no-1-riders.html |archive-date=August 10, 2016 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the NYCTA unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of a [[skip-stop]] service: the [[9 (New York City Subway service)|9]] train.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Keith |date=June 10, 1988 |title=TA's skip-stop plan hit |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25210677/daily_news/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224523/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25210677/daily_news/ |archive-date=November 8, 2018}}</ref> When skip-stop service started in 1989, it was only implemented north of [[137th Street–City College (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|137th Street–City College]] on weekdays, and 59th Street was served by both the 1 and the 9.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 20, 1989 |title=#1 Riders: Your Service is Changing |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22823286/daily_news/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224708/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22823286/daily_news/ |archive-date=November 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 1989 |title=Announcing 1 and 9 Skip-Stop Service on the Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line |url=http://subwaynut.com/brochures/1and9skipstop.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626000015/http://subwaynut.com/brochures/1and9skipstop.pdf |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |access-date=August 1, 2009 |publisher=New York City Transit Authority}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lorch |first=Donatella |date=August 22, 1989 |title=New Service For Subways On West Side |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/nyregion/new-service-for-subways-on-west-side.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810113522/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/nyregion/new-service-for-subways-on-west-side.html |archive-date=August 10, 2016 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=May 25, 2005 |title=On Its Last Wheels, No. 9 Line Is Vanishing on Signs |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/nyregion/25train.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317100921/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/nyregion/25train.html |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2005 |title=Noteworthy&nbsp;– 9 discontinued |url=http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/9_discont.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507104933/http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/9_discont.htm |archive-date=May 7, 2005 |access-date=September 18, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref>
==Station layout==
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;border-top:solid 1px gray;" width=75|'''Ground'''
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=150|Street level
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width=675|Exits/entrances
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan=7|'''Basement&nbsp;1'''
|Mezzanine
|Fare control, station agent, [[MetroCard]] and [[OMNY]] machines<hr>Shops, to exits<br>{{NYCS Platform Layout access}}
|-
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" colspan=2|<small>[[Side platform]] {{access icon}}</small>
|-
|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Northbound local'''</span>
|← {{rint|newyork|1}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street}} <small>({{NYCS Platform Layout IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line/local/previous}})</small><br>← {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Wakefield–241st Street}} late nights <small>({{NYCS Platform Layout IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line/local/previous}})</small>
|-
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Northbound express'''</span>
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|← {{rint|newyork|2}}{{rint|newyork|3}} do not stop here
|-
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Southbound express'''</span>
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"| {{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|2}}{{rint|newyork|3}} do not stop here →
|-
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Southbound local'''</span>
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"| {{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|1}} toward {{stl|NYCS|South Ferry|Broadway-Seventh}} <small>({{NYCS Platform Layout IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line/local/next}})</small> →<br>{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College}} late nights <small>({{NYCS Platform Layout IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line/local/next}})</small> →
|-
|style="border-bottom:solid 0px gray;border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" colspan=2|<small>[[Side platform]] {{access icon}}</small>
|-
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |'''Basement&nbsp;2'''
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |IND mezzanine
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |Transfers between lines and platforms
|-
|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;border-top:solid 1px gray;vertical-align:top;" rowspan=7 |'''Basement&nbsp;3'''
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|'''Northbound local'''
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray;"|← {{rint|newyork|B}} weekdays toward {{stl|NYCS|Bedford Park Boulevard}} or {{stl|NYCS|145th Street|Concourse}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Eighth}})</small><br> ← {{rint|newyork|C}} toward {{stl|NYCS|168th Street|Eighth}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Eighth}})</small><br>← {{rint|newyork|A}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Inwood–207th Street}} late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Eighth}})</small>
|-
|style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" colspan="2"| {{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
|'''Northbound express'''
|← {{rint|newyork|A}} toward {{stl|NYCS|207th Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|125th Street|Eighth}})</small><br> ← {{rint|newyork|D}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Norwood–205th Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|125th Street|Eighth}})</small>
|-
|style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" colspan="2" |<small>[[Island platform]], not in service, used as passageway between [[59th Street–Columbus Circle (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms]]</small>
|-
|'''Southbound express'''
| {{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|A}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue}}, {{stl|NYCS|Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard}}<br/>or {{stl|NYCS|Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal}})</small> →<br>{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|D}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|Seventh Avenue|Sixth}})</small> →
|-
|style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" colspan="2"| {{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|'''Southbound local'''
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"| {{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|B}} weekdays toward {{stl|NYCS|Brighton Beach}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|Seventh Avenue|Sixth}})</small> →<br>{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|C}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Euclid Avenue}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Eighth}})</small> →<br>{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|A}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue}} late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Eighth}})</small> →
|}
The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms run diagonally to and above the IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms. The IRT station is a local stop with four tracks and two [[side platform]]s, while the IND station is an express stop with four tracks and three [[island platform]]s (one of which is not in revenue service).<ref name="DCP-2009">{{Cite book |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/770_11thavenue/14_feis.pdf |title=770 Eleventh Avenue Mixed-use Development Rezoning EIS |date=2009 |publisher=New York City Department of City Planning |chapter=14: Transit and Pedestrians |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=August 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811054044/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/770_11thavenue/14_feis.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|page=4}}<ref name="Dougherty 2020">{{NYCS const|trackref|trackbook}}</ref> The complex contains two [[mezzanine]]s, which contain [[fare control]] areas and connect directly to the IRT platforms.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|4}}<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=4}} The northern mezzanine is next to the northbound IRT platform and the southern mezzanine is next to the southbound IRT platform. Passengers can transfer between the IRT platforms by descending to the IND platforms.<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=4}} The 59th Street–Columbus Circle station is fully wheelchair-accessible, with several elevators connecting the street, mezzanines, and platforms.<ref name="MTA Accessible Stations">{{cite web |title=MTA Accessible Stations |website=MTA |date=2022-05-20 |url=https://new.mta.info/accessibility/stations |access-date=2022-07-05}}</ref> The station also contains the precinct house of [[New York City Police Department]] (NYPD)'s Transit District 1.<ref name="Welcome to NYC.gov">{{cite web |title=Transit District 1 - NYPD |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/transit-housing/transit-district-1.page |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=Welcome to NYC.gov |archive-date=February 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211160812/https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/transit-housing/transit-district-1.page |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CBS News 2016">{{cite web |date=September 26, 2016 |title=Subway Riders 'Shocked' By Attack At 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/columbus-circle-subway-attack-suspects/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=CBS News |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004929/https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/columbus-circle-subway-attack-suspects/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
South of the southbound IRT platform is a mezzanine leading to 57th Street. The TurnStyle retail complex occupies a {{cvt|325|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} portion of this mezzanine. There are stores on both sides of a central corridor measuring {{cvt|27|ft}} wide.<ref name="nyt-2016-03-23" /> TurnStyle contains 30<ref name="Katz 2014">{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Rayna |date=October 3, 2014 |title=Trio of Retailers Heads to Columbus Circle |url=https://www.globest.com/sites/globest/2014/10/03/trio-of-retailers-heads-to-columbus-circle/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=GlobeSt |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701235415/https://www.globest.com/sites/globest/2014/10/03/trio-of-retailers-heads-to-columbus-circle/ |url-status=live}}</ref> or 40 storefronts,<ref name="Kadet 2018" /> which range from {{cvt|219|to|780|ft2}}.<ref name="nyt-2016-03-23" /> TurnStyle is divided into three sections: a marketplace at the south end, retail stores in the middle, and an area with "grab-and-go" restaurants at the north end.<ref name="Edelson Edelson 2014" /><ref name="Chaban 2014" /> Deliveries are made via a staircase with an enclosed conveyor belt leading from the street, and garbage is taken out through the same conveyor belt.<ref name="nyt-2016-03-23" />
=== Artwork ===
This station formerly had an artwork called ''Hello Columbus'', installed in 1992 and made by various [[New York City]] artists and public school students. The artwork consisted of 74 aluminum plaques, each measuring {{cvt|3|by|3|ft}}.<ref name="Burns.">{{cite web |title=Artwork: "Hello Columbus" (NYC Artists & Public School Students) |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?161 |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=nycsubway.org |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515233044/https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?161 |url-status=live}}</ref>
As part of the [[MTA Arts & Design]] program,<ref name="MTA Whirls and Twirls"/> [[Sol LeWitt]] designed a mosaic on the stairway from the IND platforms to the uptown IRT platform, ''Whirls and Twirls'', which was installed in 2009.<ref name="MTA-ReviewAC-2015" /><ref name="nyt-2009-09-13">{{Cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=September 13, 2009 |title=Subway Riders Are Greeted by a Blast of Sol LeWitt Color |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/arts/design/14lewitt.html |access-date=July 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617121212/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/arts/design/14lewitt.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Whirls and Twirls'' is rectangular in shape, measuring {{cvt|53|by|11|ft}}. It consists of 250 porcelain tiles in six colors, which are arranged in a curving pattern within the rectangle.<ref name="MTA Whirls and Twirls">{{cite web |title=Sol LeWitt: Whirls and Twirls (MTA), 2009 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=C&artist=1&station=6 |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=MTA |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012184558/http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=C&artist=1&station=6 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2009-09-13" /> LeWitt also designed two light-and-dark-gray porcelain [[compass rose]]s on the station floor. One of the compass roses is near the Deutsche Bank Center entrance, while the other is near 58th Street.<ref name="nyt-2009-09-13" />
===Entrances and exits===
[[File:Columbus Circle retail vc.jpg|thumb|250px|Retail space|alt=A mezzanine within the 59th Street–Columbus Circle station. There are storefronts to the right. A sign with an arrow, "A", "C", "B", "D", and "1" icons hangs from the ceiling.]]
This station complex has several entrances and exits from street level. Most of the station's exits are from the two mezzanines.<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=4}} The one at the north end of Columbus Circle leads to the [[Trump International Hotel and Tower (New York City)|Trump International Hotel and Tower]]. A wide staircase from that plaza leads to the northern part of the IND mezzanine, adjacent to the north end of the northbound IRT platform. There is also an elevator at the same corner.<ref name=MTAMaps-2015>{{cite web |title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midtown West |url=http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/mn/M10_midtown_west_2015.pdf |website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|mta.info]] |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |access-date=December 11, 2015 |date=2015 |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724175213/http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/mn/M10_midtown_west_2015.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> An additional staircase leads to the east side of Central Park West, just north of Columbus Circle.<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
The south end of the northbound IRT platform has a fare control area leading to two staircases. These staircases ascend to the southeastern corner of Central Park South and Broadway, just outside [[240 Central Park South]].<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" />
Two staircases from the northwest corner of Broadway and 60th Street descend to a fare control area leading to the southbound IRT platform.<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=4}}<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" /> There are two additional staircases from the median of Broadway between Columbus Circle and 60th Street, which also lead to a fare control area adjacent to the southbound IRT platform. A staircase to the southwest corner of that intersection was proposed as part of the Columbus Center project but was never built.<ref name="DCP-2010">{{Cite book |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/riverside/17_fseis.pdf |title=Riverside Center FSEIS |date=2010 |publisher=New York City Department of City Planning |chapter=17: Transit and Pedestrians |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=August 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811051752/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/riverside/17_fseis.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|page=3}}
The [[Deutsche Bank Center]] at the northwest corner of 58th Street and Eighth Avenue has an elevator, escalators, and a staircase descending to a fare control area. The mezzanine also has a staircase to the northeast corner of 58th Street and Eighth Avenue, outside [[2 Columbus Circle]].<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" /> There is a passageway leading to two sets of [[easement]] staircases at 57th Street and Eighth Avenue.<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=5}} A single staircase, within the [[Central Park Place]] building, ascends to the northwest corner of the intersection. At the southeast corner, two staircases ascend to the [[Hearst Tower (New York City)|Hearst Tower]]: one to Eighth Avenue and one to 57th Street.<ref name="DCP-2009" />{{Rp|page=5}}<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" />
In October 1992, at a public hearing, New York City Transit proposed closing street staircase S6 to the northwest corner of 61st Street and Central Park West (outside what is now [[15 Central Park West]]) and reopening street staircase S2 at 60th Street and Central Park West, located to the east of the circular stair, in order to expand the Transit Police District Command to accommodate more officers and increase the efficiency of the operation. The circular staircase was expected to be reconstructed to provide more direct access. The 61st Street exit was operated part-time, closing at nights; it consisted of a high exit turnstile and was used by 2,400 daily passengers. It was located in a remote unmonitored portion of the station, making safety an added consideration for its closure. Four staircases to the two platforms that led to the passageway leading to the exit were removed.<ref name="MTA-ReviewAC-2015">{{cite report |url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/AC_LineReview.pdf |title=Review of the A and C Lines |date=December 11, 2015 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |access-date=January 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203061138/http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/AC_LineReview.pdf |archive-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726981263/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.70 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915132121/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726981263/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726980853/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.71 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523125038/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726980853/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/46691855281/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.72 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171506/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/46691855281/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726980193/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.73 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521083656/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726980193/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/46691852831/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.74 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915132440/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/46691852831/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726979513/in/dateposted-public/ |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda September 1994 |date=September 16, 1994 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=D.75 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915133407/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/39726979513/in/dateposted-public/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clear}}
== <span class="anchor" id="IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line platforms"></span>IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = 59 Street–Columbus Circle
| accessible = yes
| image = Columbus Circle IRT 004.JPG
| image_caption = View from the northbound platform
| division = IRT
| line = [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]
| service = Broadway-Seventh local
| service_header = Broadway-Seventh local header
| platforms = 2 [[side platform]]s
| tracks = 4
| structure = Underground
| open_date = {{start date and age|1904|10|27}}<ref name="145th">{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.html |title=Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train. |date=October 28, 1904 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 21, 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |page=1 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012129/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
| hide_traffic = yes
| adjacent_stations = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line1=Broadway-Seventh local|left1=66th Street–Lincoln Center|right1=50th Street|note-left1={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh local|time=1}} |note-right1={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh local|time=1}}
|note-row2={{Rail-interchange|nycs|3}} does not stop here}}
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|nightsonly}}
| embedded = <hr />{{Infobox NRHP
|embed = yes
|name = 59th Street &ndash; Columbus Circle (IRT)
|added = September 17, 2004
|mpsub = New York City Subway System MPS
|refnum = 04001015<ref name="focus"/>
|designated_other2 = New York City Landmark
|designated_other2_date = October 23, 1979<ref name="NYCL-1096"/>
|designated_other2_number = 1096
|designated_other2_abbr = NYCL
|designated_other2_color = #FFE978
}}
| layout = {{NYCS 4-tracked local station
|inline=y
|1=66th Street–Lincoln Center
|l1=66th Street
|2=50th Street
|code2=IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
|dir=N
}}
|alt=Uptown platform of the IRT station. To the left is a set of green columns and a yellow strip at the edge of the platform. To the right is a tiled wall, which contains a mosaic sign with the words "Columbus Circle".}}
The '''59th Street–Columbus Circle station''' is a local station on the [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]], it has four tracks and two [[side platform]]s.<ref name="Dougherty 2020" /> The local tracks are used by the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]] at all times<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|1}}</ref> and by the [[2 (New York City Subway service)|2]] during late nights;<ref name="tt2">{{NYCS const|timetable|2}}</ref> the express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours<ref name="tt2" /> and the 3 train at all times.<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|3}}</ref> The station is between [[66th Street–Lincoln Center (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|66th Street–Lincoln Center]] to the north and [[50th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|50th Street]] to the south.<ref name="submap">{{NYCS const|map}}</ref> The platforms were originally {{cvt|200|ft}} long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3}}<ref name="NYCL-1096"/>{{Rp|4}}<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|8}} and ranged between {{cvt|9.5|ft}} wide at the ends and {{cvt|43|ft}} wide at the center.<ref name="p574970238">{{cite magazine |title=Subway Stations in New York City |volume=13 |issue=9 |date=September 20, 1903 |pages=729–730 |magazine=The Street Railway Review |id={{ProQuest|574970238}}}}</ref>{{rp|729}} As a result of the 1958–1959 platform extension, the platforms became {{cvt|520|ft}} long.<ref name="Issuu 2009">{{Cite journal |date=February 2009 |title=High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959 |url=https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2009-02-bulletin/1 |journal=The Bulletin |publisher=New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association |volume=52 |issue=2 |access-date=August 26, 2016 |via=Issuu |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916212657/https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2009-02-bulletin/1 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Design===
As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a [[cut-and-cover]] method.<ref name="HAER CE">{{cite web |last=Scott |first=Charles |date=1978 |title=Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=208–282 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|237}} The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a [[Foundation (engineering)|foundation]] of [[concrete]] no less than {{Convert|4|in||abbr=}} thick.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|9}} Each platform consists of {{Convert|3|in|cm|-thick|abbr=|adj=mid}} concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|4}}<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|9}} The platform floor was originally divided into white granolithic slabs measuring {{cvt|3|by|3|ft|adj=off}}.<ref name="p574970238" />{{rp|729}} These slabs curved upward at the intersection with each wall, preventing debris buildup.<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|729}}<ref name="p1015861807">{{cite news |date=November 5, 1903 |title=By Colors: Subway Stations Will Be Recognized Need Not Look for Names New York's Transit Way Nearing Completion Still Much Is to Be Done |page=10 |work=Courier-Journal |id={{ProQuest|1015861807}}}}</ref> The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron [[Doric order|Doric]]-style columns spaced every {{Convert|15|ft||abbr=}}, while the platform extensions contain [[I-beam]] columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every {{cvt|5|ft}}, support the [[Jack arch|jack-arched]] concrete station roofs.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|4}}<ref name="HAER Designs">{{cite web |last=Framberger |first=David J. |date=1978 |title=Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=1–46 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|9}} The ceiling ranges from {{cvt|9.5|to|19|ft}} high.<ref name="p574970238" />{{rp|729–730}} There is a {{Convert|1|in||abbr=|adj=on}} gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of {{Convert|4|in||abbr=|adj=on}}-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|9}}
The walls along the southbound platform and a short stretch of the northbound platform consist of a brick [[wainscot]]ing on the lowest part of the wall and white glass tiles above, while the rest of the northbound platform has ceramic tile walls.<ref name="focus"/>{{rp|4}}<ref name="NYCL-1096"/>{{rp|8}} The wainscoting is about {{cvt|2.5|to|3|ft}} high and is topped by a band of green marble with white veining.<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|729}} The platform walls are divided at {{cvt|15|ft|adj=on}} intervals by green and red tile [[pilaster]]s, or vertical bands. Atop each pilaster are faience plaques in blue, green, brown, and cream.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|4}}<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{rp|8}} These are flanked by square tiles depicting the ''[[Santa María (ship)|Santa María]]'', one of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s ships.<ref name="p1015861807" /> The walls contain two varieties of mosaic tile plaques, with the name "Columbus Circle" in white letters, alternating with each other. One variety of name plaques contains a green-mosaic background, while the other has a green faience background with half-circle motifs and Renaissance style moldings.<ref name="focus">{{Cite archive |collection=Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006 |institution=National Archives|item-url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313921 |series=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017 |item=New York MPS 59th Street--Columbus Circle Subway Station (IRT)|item-id= 75313889 |box=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York}}</ref>{{rp|4}}<ref name="NYCL-1096">{{cite web |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf |title=Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior |date=October 23, 1979 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |access-date=November 19, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327141814/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|8}} There were originally four such plaques on each platform.<ref name="p1015861807" /> The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|31}} The decorative work was performed by faience contractor [[Grueby Faience Company]].<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|729}}<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|36}} Hidden behind the current station wall is a prototype of a mosaic installed in 1901;<ref name="Carlson 2010">{{cite web |last=Carlson |first=Jen |date=October 21, 2010 |title=1901 Subway Mosaic Unearthed |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/1901-subway-mosaic-unearthed |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004929/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/1901-subway-mosaic-unearthed |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dunlap 2010">{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=October 21, 2010 |title=Behind an Old Subway Wall, a Glimpse of an Even Older One |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/antique-mosaic-comes-to-light-not-far-from-where-the-coliseum-stood/ |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=City Room |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703004929/https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/antique-mosaic-comes-to-light-not-far-from-where-the-coliseum-stood/ |url-status=live}}</ref> it consists of red and yellow mosaic tiles in a [[guilloche]] pattern.<ref name="Dunlap 2010" />
Various doorways lead off both platforms.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|4–5}}<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|730}} On each platform, two of the doorways led to restrooms for women and men.<ref name="p574970238" />{{rp|730}}<ref name="p1015861807" /> Each restroom had ceramic-tile floors, glass walls, and marble-and-slate partitions; patrons paid five cents to enter.<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|730}} The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.<ref name="HAER Designs"/>{{rp|10}} The moldings divide the original ceilings into panels measuring 15 feet wide.<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|729–730}} Blue tile was used for the ceilings above the tracks, while yellow plaster was used for the ceilings above the platforms.<ref name="p1015861807" /> The mezzanines leading off either platform contain ceramic tiles and flooring.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|4–5}} The original exit stairways (now removed or upgraded) were {{cvt|5.5|to|6|ft}} wide.<ref name="p574970238"/>{{rp|730}}
In January 1992, the MTA Board approved a request by the NYCTA to close 43 full-time or part-time station areas at 30 station complexes. These included an underpass near the northern end of the station, west of the IND platforms, which connected the northbound and southbound platforms.<ref name="MTA-1992">{{Cite book |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RfIcjTtG7Te9T3WhW8N44VfqBnm46zv9/view |title=Service Change Executive Summary |date=January 9, 1992 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |page=E.28}}</ref>
{{Clear}}
== IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = 59 Street–Columbus Circle
| accessible = yes
| image = 59th Street - Columbus Circle Southbound IND 8th Avenue Line Platform, October 2024.jpg
| alt=Downtown platform of the IND station. On the right, an "A" train of R211A subway cars is arriving.
| image_caption = An [[A (NYCS)|A]] train of [[R211 (New York City Subway car)|R211A]]s arriving at the southbound platform
| division = IND
| line = [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]]
| service = Eighth center
| platforms = 3 [[island platform]]s (2 in passenger service)<br />[[cross-platform interchange]]
| tracks = 4
| structure = Underground
| open_date = {{start date and age|1932|09|10}}<ref name=Chambers>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=List of the 28 Stations on the New 8th Av. Line |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/09/10/100849595.html?pageNumber=6 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |date=September 10, 1932 |page=6 |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214084958/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/09/10/100849595.html?pageNumber=6 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| hide_traffic = yes
| adjacent_stations = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line1=Eighth express 59th|left1=125th Street|right1=42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal|note-left1={{NYCS Eighth center express|time=1}} |note-right1={{NYCS Eighth 50th express|time=1}}
|line2=Eighth express via Sixth|left2=125th Street|right2=Seventh Avenue|note-left2={{NYCS Eighth center express|time=1}} |note-right2={{NYCS Sixth 53rd|time=1}}
|line3=Eighth local via Sixth|left3=72nd Street|right3=Seventh Avenue|note-left3={{NYCS Eighth center local|time=1}} |note-right3={{NYCS Sixth 53rd|time=1}}
|line4=Eighth local 59th|left4=72nd Street|right4=50th Street|note-left4={{NYCS Eighth center local|time=1}} |note-right4={{NYCS Eighth 50th local|time=1}}}}
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}{{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|nightsonly}}{{NYCS infobox legend|weekdaysonly}}
| layout = {{Routemap|inline=y
| title = Track layout
| legend = track
| map =
numN330\utSTR!~MFADEg\uSTR!~MFADEg\d ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|125th Street|Eighth}}
utvSTR!~dMFADEg\uvSTR!~dMFADEg ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Eighth}}
utvSTRf\uvSTRg
utvSTR\d!~uvSTR\d!~MFADEf!~utdSTR
utvSTR\uvÜWBtl
uvSTR!~MFADEg!~utvSTR\uvSTR!~dMFADEg!~utdSTR
uvÜSTl\uvSTR
udSTR\uvÜST\udSTR
uvÜSTr\uvÜST
uSHI3+l\uSHI1+l!~uvSHI3r-\uSHI1+r!~uv-SHI3l\uSHI3+r
udSTR\dPLT\udSTR\exdPLT\udSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\udSTR\exdPLT\udSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\udSTR\exdPLT\udSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\udSTR\exdPLT\udSTR\dPLT\udSTR
uSHI1l!~uSHI3l\uSPLa!~udSHI3+r\uSPLa!~uv-SHI3+l\uSHI3r!~uSHI1r
uvSTRf\uvSTRfg\uvSTRg
udSTR\udSTR!~dMFADEf\uvSTR\udSTR!~dMFADEf\udSTR ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|Seventh Avenue|Queens}}
udSTR!~dMFADEf\d\uvSTR\d\udSTR!~dMFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Eighth}}
uvSTR!~MFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ to [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station|42nd Street–PABT]]
}}
}}
The '''59th Street–Columbus Circle station''' on the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]] is an express station with four tracks and three [[island platform]]s. Only the outer two platforms are used for passenger service, allowing [[cross-platform interchange]]s between local and express trains heading in the same direction.<ref name="Dougherty 2020" /> The station is served by A and D trains at all times,<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|a}}</ref><ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|d}}</ref> C trains at all times except late nights,<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|c}}</ref> and B trains on weekdays during the day.<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|b}}</ref> B and C trains use the local tracks and D trains use the express tracks. A trains use the express tracks during the day and the local tracks at night.<ref>{{NYCS const|serviceguide}}</ref> The next stop to the north is [[72nd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|72nd Street]] for local trains and [[125th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|125th Street]] for express trains; there are seven local stations between 59th and 125th Streets<!-- 3.35 miles (5.391 km) apart, which is the longest distance between two express stops in the system-->. The next stop to the south is [[50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|50th Street]] for Eighth Avenue local {{NYCS Eighth 50th local|time=nolink}} trains, [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal]] for Eighth Avenue express {{NYCS Eighth 50th express|time=nolink}} trains, and [[Seventh Avenue (IND lines)|Seventh Avenue]] for Sixth Avenue express {{NYCS Sixth 53rd|time=nolink}} trains.<ref name="submap"/>
===Design===
The walls of the station contain blue-tile bands with black borders; since 59th Street is an express station, it has a wider tile band than local stations.<ref name="nyt-1932-08-22">{{Cite news |date=August 22, 1932 |title=Tile Colors a Guide in the New Subway; Decoration Scheme Changes at Each Express Stop to Tell Riders Where They Are |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/22/archives/tile-colors-a-guide-in-the-new-subway-decoration-scheme-changes-at.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701184626/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/22/archives/tile-colors-a-guide-in-the-new-subway-decoration-scheme-changes-at.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Large white "59"s are placed over the blue stripes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenfeld |first=Robbie |date=May 7, 2007 |title=New wall tile at 59th St./Columbus Circle similar to that at 42nd St./Port Authority |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?65835 |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=nycsubway.org |archive-date=March 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314012218/http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?65835 |url-status=live}}</ref> The tile colors are intended to help riders identify their station more easily, part of a color-coded [[New York City Subway tiles|tile system]] for the entire Independent Subway System.<ref name="nyt-1932-08-22" /> The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from [[Lower Manhattan]]; on the Eighth Avenue Line, the tiles change color at the next express station to the north. As such, the blue tiles used at the 59th Street station were also used on local stations to the north; the next express station, [[125th Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|125th Street]], used a different tile color.<ref name="Carlson 2016">{{cite web | last=Carlson | first=Jen | title=Map: These Color Tiles In The Subway System Used To Mean Something | website=Gothamist | date=February 18, 2016 | url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/map-these-color-tiles-in-the-subway-system-used-to-mean-something | access-date=May 10, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Gleason 2016">{{cite web | last=Gleason | first=Will | title=The hidden meaning behind the New York subway's colored tiles | website=Time Out New York | date=February 18, 2016 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/the-hidden-meaning-behind-the-new-york-subways-colored-tiles-021816 | access-date=May 10, 2023}}</ref>
The stations on the Eighth Avenue Line were built with {{Convert|600|feet|meters|adj=on|sp=us}} long platforms, but there were provisions to lengthen them to {{Convert|660|feet|meters}} to accommodate eleven-car trains.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=620TAAAAIAAJ&q=660 |title=Transit Journal |date=1932 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Incorporated |language=en |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620215820/https://books.google.com/books?id=620TAAAAIAAJ&q=660 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|70}} Four of the express stations, including 59th Street, were built with long mezzanines so that passengers could walk the entire length of the mezzanines without having to pay a fare. It was proposed to develop the mezzanines of these four stations with shops, so that they would become retail corridors, similar to the underground mall at [[Rockefeller Center]].<ref name="Galloway. 1931" /> Above the south end of the station is an underground arcade connecting 57th and 58th Streets, which was originally flanked by stores. The mezzanine also enabled pedestrians to cross under Columbus Circle.<ref name="p1113177960">{{cite news |last=Harrington |first=John Walker |date=April 27, 1930 |title=New Municipal Subway System Galled Model in Construction and Plans for Operation |page=C3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113177960}}}}</ref>
=== Track layout ===
South of the station, A and C trains continue along the Eighth Avenue Line, while B and D trains diverge east to the [[Seventh Avenue (IND Sixth Avenue Line)|Seventh Avenue]] station via the [[IND Sixth Avenue Line]].<ref name="Dougherty 2020" /> North of the station are [[crossover (rail)|crossover]]s in both directions, and the northbound tracks cross over the southbound tracks to form a two-level configuration, used at all local stations on the line through [[103rd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|103rd Street]].<ref name="Dougherty 2020" /> The distance between the 59th Street station and the next express stop, 125th Street, was intended to "avoid much delay and confusion" by reducing the number of local&ndash;express transfer stations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 19, 1931 |title=Says City Subway Excels; A.I. Raisman Explains Features of Eighth Avenue Line. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/11/19/archives/says-city-subway-excels-ai-raisman-explains-features-of-eighth.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701191611/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/11/19/archives/says-city-subway-excels-ai-raisman-explains-features-of-eighth.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clear}}
==Nearby points of interest==
*[[Central Park]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[Church of St. Paul the Apostle (New York City)|Church of St. Paul the Apostle]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[Deutsche Bank Center]] (including [[Jazz at Lincoln Center]])<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[Fordham University]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[John Jay College of Criminal Justice]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[Museum of Arts &amp; Design]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[New York Institute of Technology]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
*[[Professional Children's School]]<ref name=MTAMaps-2015/>
==Ridership==
In 2019, the station had 23,040,650 boardings, making it the eighth most-used station in the {{NYCS const|number|intl}}-station system. This amounted to an average of 72,959 passengers per weekday.<ref name="riderref"/> Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]], ridership dropped drastically in 2020, with only 7,618,925 passengers entering the station that year. However, it was still the system's eighth most-used station.<ref>{{cite web |title=Subway and bus ridership for 2020 |website=MTA |date=August 31, 2020 |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit/subway-bus-ridership-2020 |access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gannon |first=Devin |title=In 2020, NYC subway saw a billion fewer total trips than year prior |website=6sqft |date=May 18, 2020 |url=https://www.6sqft.com/in-2020-nyc-subway-saw-a-billion-fewer-total-trips-than-year-prior/ |access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last=Stookey |first=Lee |title=Subway ceramics: a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system |publisher=L. Stookey |location=Brattleboro, Vt |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-9635486-1-0 |oclc=31901471}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*{{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?6:3137|IRT West Side Line|59th Street/Columbus Circle}}
*{{NYCS ref|https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/IND_8th_Avenue_Line#59th_Street-Columbus_Circle|IND 8th Avenue|59th Street/Columbus Circle}}
*nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?200 Whirls and Twirls Artwork by Sol Lewitt (2007)]
*nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?161 Hello Columbus Artwork by the NYC Artists & Public School Students (1992)]
*Forgotten NY – [http://forgotten-ny.com/2006/01/the-original-28-part-2-a-look-at-the-artwork-from-the-nycs-first-28-stations-opened-october-27-1904/ Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations]
*MTA's Arts For Transit – [https://web.archive.org/web/20120927014743/http://mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=1&station=10&xdev=982 59th Street–Columbus Circle]
*[https://www.turn-style.com/ TurnStyle website]
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{{Central Park}}
{{Broadway (Manhattan)|state=collapsed}}
{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{Upper West Side}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
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[[Category:1904 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1932 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:59th Street (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Columbus Circle|Subway]]
[[Category:Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:IND Eighth Avenue Line stations]]
[[Category:IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City interior landmarks]]
[[Category:New York City Subway stations in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City Subway transfer stations]]
[[Category:Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932]]