View source for Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station

{{Short description|New York City Subway terminal station in the Bronx}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Van Cortlandt Park–242 Street
| former = 242 St–Van Cortlandt Park{{efn|Used on platform signs and most R62A destination rollsigns}}
| image = 242ndBack.jpg
| image_caption = Looking south from the north end of the tracks, a 1 train enters Track 1. Another 1 train sits at Track 4.
| address = West 242nd Street & Broadway<br>Bronx, New York
| borough = [[The Bronx]]
| locale = [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] & [[Fieldston, Bronx|Fieldston]]
| coordinates = {{coord|40.889222|N|73.898583|W|display=inline,title}}
| division = IRT
| line = [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]
| service = Broadway-Seventh north
| connection = {{Unbulleted list
| {{bus icon}} [[NYCT Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|Bx9}}
| {{bus icon}} [[MTA Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|BxM3}}
| {{bus icon}} [[Bee-Line Bus]]: [[List of bus routes in Westchester County|1, 2, 3]]
}}
| structure = Elevated
| platforms = 1 [[island platform]] (in service)<br>2 [[side platform]]s (unused)<br>[[Spanish solution]]
| tracks = 2
| open_date = {{start date and age|1908|08|01}}
| accessible = future
| adjacent_stations = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line=Broadway-Seventh local|right=238th Street}}
| unused_adjacent_stations = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line=none|right=Dyckman Street|note-right=''express''}}
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}
| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = 242nd Street - Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT)
| architect = [[Heins & LaFarge]]
| architecture =  Victorian Gothic
| added = March 30, 2003
| mpsub = New York City Subway System MPS
| refnum = 05000226<ref name="focus">{{Cite web |url=http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov |title=NPS Focus |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref>
}}
| layout = {{NYCS 3-tracked terminal station
|1 = 238th Street
|2 = Dyckman Street
|ss = y
|code2 = IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
|inline = y
|deg = 345
|unused = y
}}
}}
The '''Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station''' is the northern [[terminal station]] of the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]. Located at the intersection of 242nd Street and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] ([[U.S. Route 9 in New York|US Route 9]]) in the [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] neighborhood of [[the Bronx]], it is served by the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]] train at all times. It is adjacent to [[Van Cortlandt Park]] to the east, [[Manhattan University]], and the [[240th Street Yard]] of the subway system, along with the affluent neighborhoods of [[Fieldston, Bronx|Fieldston]] and [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] to the west.
It was built from a design by subway architects [[Heins & LaFarge]]. Today it is the only remaining [[Victorian Gothic]] [[elevated train|elevated]] terminal station on the subway, and contains the subway's only remaining [[scrollwork|scrolled]] station sign among its [[ornament (architecture)|decorative]] flourishes. In 2005, it was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
==History==
===Construction and opening===
{{Stack|float=right|
[[File:IRT 242 sta jeh.JPG|thumb|alt=Refer to caption|West side of the station, with white windscreens; the station exit is visible in the background]]
}}
The station was built as part of the Contract 1 system erected from 1904–1908, connecting [[Lower Manhattan]] to the Bronx. Originally the northern terminus was intended to be Bailey Avenue and 230th Street, a block southeast of the current station at [[231st Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|231st Street]]. After the completion of the [[Harlem River Ship Canal]] at the end of the 19th century, the line was rerouted to a new terminus at 242nd Street. Like many of the other terminal stations in the [[outer boroughs]], it was located near a park.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
[[Heins & LaFarge]], who had already designed the [[Cathedral of St. John the Divine]] near [[Columbia University]] and the [[Astor Court (Bronx Zoo)|Astor Court]] at the [[Bronx Zoo]], were commissioned to design the stations. In the early 1890s, the city's transit commissioners had recommended that subway stations be painted and decorated in order to make the experience of using the system pleasant. They took further inspiration from the contemporary [[City Beautiful movement]], which called for beautiful public architecture in the hope that it would inspire citizens to act virtuously.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
Their use of the [[Victorian Gothic]] [[architectural style]] reflected its popularity at that time for train stations. The six elevated stations they built in that style on the Contract 1 are extensively decorated on their exterior surfaces, complementing the corresponding [[New York City Subway tiles|tilework]] and [[mosaic]]s in the underground stations. 242nd Street, which opened on August 1, 1908,<ref>New York Subway Completed ''[[Electric Railway Journal]]'' issue 10 August 8, 1908 page 451</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Our First Subway Completed At Last: Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900|url-access=subscription|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/08/02/106774632.pdf|access-date=August 16, 2015|work=New York Times|date=August 2, 1908}}</ref> is the only elevated terminal station left in that style from Contract 1.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
Within a few years of the station's opening, ridership on the line north of 157th Street increased sharply. In 1913, 3.1 million tickets were sold at the Van Cortlandt Park station. Undeveloped lots along Broadway to the city's northern limit were quickly bought by builders hoping to profit from the boom in luxury houses, which could reach the subway through [[streetcar]] lines as well. At that time, it was expected that the line would be extended to 262nd Street.<ref name="1912 NYT story">{{cite news|title=The Real Estate Field|url-access=subscription|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/11/13/100557486.pdf|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 13, 1912|access-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref> The [[Horace Mann School]] was built to serve this population.<ref name="1914 NYT story">{{cite news|title=The Northward March of the Population and the Trade Along Broadway to the City Line|url-access=subscription|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/06/21/100095667.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 21, 1914|access-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref>
===Later years===
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the [[New York Public Service Commission]] 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 (PDF pp. 147–208)}} {{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}}</ref>{{Rp|15}} The side platforms at the 242nd Street station were  extended {{convert|62|ft}} to the south.<ref name="Report 1911"/>{{rp|114}} Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910,<ref name="HAER Impact" />{{Rp|168}} and ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line on January 24, 1911.<ref name="HAER Impact" />{{Rp|168}}<ref>{{Cite news|url-access=limited|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/01/23/archives/tencar-trains-in-subway-today-new-service-begins-on-lenox-av-line.html|title=Ten-car Trains in Subway to-day; New Service Begins on Lenox Av. Line and Will Be Extended to Broadway To-morrow.|date=January 23, 1911|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 5, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
In 1947, [[Jack Kerouac]] passed through the station, then a busy trolley hub, at the end of the first leg of his escape from the city in what became ''[[On the Road]]''. His goal was to reach [[U.S. Route 6 in New York|U.S. Route 6]] at the [[Bear Mountain Bridge]] and use it as a route along which to go [[Western United States|West]] to [[Denver]]. The attempt failed when he found very little traffic on Route 6 to [[hitchhiking|hitch]] rides from, and he returned to the city to take a bus instead.<ref name="NYT On the Road story">{{cite news|last=Keller|first=Mitch|title=City Lore: When On the Road was On the Subway|url-access=limited|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/nyregion/thecity/15kero.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 15, 2007|access-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref>
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1940-06-13 |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-access=subscription|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=2022-05-14 |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 |id={{ProQuest|1248134780}}}}</ref> The IRT routes 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 | title=How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious | website=amNewYork | date=May 17, 2019 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-subway-name-1-31116195/ | access-date=January 27, 2021}}</ref> The route to 242nd Street became known as the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Friedlander|first=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|journal=New York Division Bulletin|publisher=Electric Railroaders' Association|volume=3|issue=1|page=2|access-date=January 27, 2021|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914232631/https://erausa.org/pdf/bulletin/1960/1960-01-bulletin.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1959, all 1 trains became local.<ref>{{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|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|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}}</ref>
In 2019, the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] announced that this station would become [[ADA-accessible]] as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-announces-20-additional-subway-stations-receive-accessibility|title=Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan|date=December 19, 2019|website=MTA|access-date=December 25, 2019|archive-date=March 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322233116/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-announces-20-additional-subway-stations-receive-accessibility|url-status=dead}}</ref>
A request for proposals was put out on May 18, 2023 for the contract for a project bundle to make 13 stations accessible, including 242nd Street.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 18, 2023 |title=A37758 Design-Build Services for ADA Upgrades Package 5: Accessibility Upgrades at 13 Stations in the City of New York |url=https://new.mta.info/document/112391 |access-date=May 10, 2024 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref> A contract for one elevator at the station was awarded in December 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 Dec 2023 |title=December 2023 MTA Board Action Items |url=https://new.mta.info/document/129196 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222012801/https://new.mta.info/document/129196 |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |pages=46–47}}</ref> Construction on the elevator was begun in late September, 2024, and is anticipated to be completed and opened in 2025.
==Station layout==
[[File:242 Street staircase vc.jpg|thumb|alt=A staircase from the sidewalk to the elevated station house. It has decorative railings with peeling black paint.|Street stair]]
{{NYCS Platform Layout Terminal Station/elevated Spanish solution|track1=Track 4|track2=Track 1|color=red}}
The station is served by the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]] at all times.<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|1}}</ref> It is the northern terminus of the 1 train; the next stop to the south is [[238th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|238th Street]].<ref name="submap">{{NYCS const|map}}</ref> There are three components to the station: the [[railway platform|platform]]s, a control house perpendicular to the tracks at the north end, and a crew quarters building spanning the platform at the south end. From the northeast corner an [[overpass]] crosses the through-traffic lanes of Broadway. Two stairs descend in either direction from its end, matching the two stairs that descend to the sidewalk from the west of the control house.<ref name="NRHP nom">{{cite web|last=Howe|first=Kathleen|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, 242nd Street–Van Cortlandt Park Station|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=101408|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|date=July 6, 2004|access-date=December 14, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017230813/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=101408|archive-date=October 17, 2012}}</ref>
Just south of the station, the line widens to three tracks, which is the configuration up to just before [[Dyckman Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|Dyckman Street]].
{{Clear|left}}
===Location===
The station is located {{convert|29|ft|m}} above the west side of the street, where parking is located on either side of where West 242nd Street intersects from the west. On that side of the street are commercial buildings, including a large [[parking garage]] on the southwest corner; the east side has the track, football field, tennis courts, swimming pools and other athletic facilities of [[Van Cortlandt Park]]. Also in the park nearby, to the northeast, is the [[Van Cortlandt House Museum]], a [[National Historic Landmark]]. The [[240th Street Yard]] is beyond the parking garage to the southwest, next to the campus of [[Manhattan University]], a few blocks west of the station.
===Platforms===
[[File:Van Cortland Park-242nd Street station Track 1.jpg|thumb|200px|alt=The platform level on a snowy day, on the center island platform. A train is stopped on the left-hand track. On the right is another, empty track, as well as a disused side platform with a white windscreen.|Track 1, with the island platform on the left and a side platform on the right]]
There is one [[island platform]] and two [[side platform]]s. The station was formerly set up as a [[Spanish solution]] with alighting passengers using the side platforms and boarding passengers using the island platform. Now, only the center island platform is open to the public for boarding and disembarking from trains.<ref name="tracks">{{NYCS const|trackref|trackbook3}}</ref> They are floored in concrete and sheltered with a wooden roof covered in standing-seam metal supported by [[truss]]ed steel T-frames on the side platforms and timber in the center. Rounded [[rafter]] tails project from the [[eave]]s. The sides, except for the open southernmost section, have had metal windscreen added.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
Under the canopies are modern fluorescent lights. On the eastern platform, the original iron railings support original lights, with dish-shaped downlights on a curved stem. At the south end is the only [[scrollwork|scrolled]] station sign remaining anywhere in the subway system. The western platform has its original railing and modern lights.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
===Control house===
[[File:242nd St by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|thumb|right|275px|alt=A decorative one-story red building on green steel supports above a street with a red-roofed stair leading up to it. The middle of the building projects slightly forward and its roof is slightly higher than the rest of the building.|Control house]]
The control house is the dominant architectural feature of the station. The copper-clad [[timber frame]] exterior is painted in a vertical, [[batten]] seam pattern. It is topped with a low [[hip roof|hipped roof]] clad in sheet metal and pierced by two ventilating [[dormer window]]s on the east and west side. A [[fleur-de-lis]]–patterned group of [[finial]]s at the peak.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
On the north [[facade]], narrow [[casement window]]s are echoed by recessed panels below. The groups of five in the section on either side of the projecting central [[bay window]] are flanked by blind openings. The bay is supported by [[corbel]]ed [[bracket (architecture)|brackets]] and topped with a fan [[gable]] above the overhanging eaves at the roofline. Its tripartite narrow windows are surrounded by recessed panels with inset circles on the sides and above.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
At both sides are [[steel frame]] [[parapet]]s with wooden decks. These connect the western stairs and overpass to the control house. The stairs combine structural steel and decorative [[cast iron]]. Their supports are braced steel [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] columns. Gabled standing-seam metal canopies with box fluorescent lighting over the stairs are on narrow supports with slightly [[fluting (architecture)|fluted]] [[capital (architecture)|capitals]]. At street level are gabled entries whose support columns are decorated with a geometric pattern similar to that on the control house's projecting bay window. C-shaped brackets support the original signage, now painted over.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
[[File:242nd St-Van Cortlandt Park station.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Old signal building and crew quarters|alt=An elevated railroad track above a city street in winter, with two buildings. The smaller one, on the left, is pale yellow and narrow. The larger one at right, gray with a red stripe, is box-shaped and elevated over the tracks]]
The steel-framed overpass is an architecturally sympathetic addition. Railings are a more restrained version of the original railings found on the platform. It is floored in wood plank and roofed with slats covered by standing seam metal. At its west end is a covered [[veranda]] leading into the control house.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
On the inside, the control house is floored in wood plank as well. The walls are finished in a mix of solid and [[tongue and groove]] wood paneling. Tall riveted steel arches support the ceiling. The main waiting area has niches where modern heaters have replaced the original [[pot-bellied stove]]s. There is a modern steel and glass token booth and [[turnstile]] bank, along with [[MetroCard (New York City)|MetroCard]] vending machines. Former restrooms have been converted into utility and storage rooms.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
===Crew quarters===
The crew quarters building is located at the south end of the platforms. It is a one-story building sided in corrugated metal with a flat roof, elevated over the tracks and platforms at that end. The siding has been given the appearance of [[clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]] and painted gray. A belt [[course (architecture)|course]] corresponding to the top of the windows has been painted red, the color of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue trunk line, on both side elevations; it is augmented with a series of blocks in the same color descending towards the tracks on the north end.<ref name="NRHP nom" />
At the south end, a series of projecting nested bays descends to an entrance to track level. To its south is an old signal house also sided in metal. The crew quarters can also be entered from the center platform. Its interior is given over to employee-related functions and is not open to the public.
{{Clear|left}}
===Exits===
At the north end of the station, past fare control, there are four stairs that lead down to Broadway. Two go to the west side of Broadway, and two go to the east side.<ref>{{cite web|title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Riverdale|url=http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/bx/BX3_Riverdale_2015.pdf|website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|mta.info]]|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=September 15, 2015|date=2015}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of New York City Subway terminals]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bronx County, New York]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commons category|Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)}}
* {{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/IRT_West_Side_Line#242nd_Street-Van_Cortlandt_Park|IRT West Side Line|242nd Street/Van Cortlandt Park}}
* nycsubway.org — [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?208 Unknown Artwork From 2007 at Van Cortlandt Park — 242nd Street]
* Station Reporter — [https://web.archive.org/web/20141010102251/http://www.stationreporter.net/1train.htm 1 Train]
* The Subway Nut — [http://www.subwaynut.com/irt/242n1/index.html 242nd Street–Van Cortlandt Park Pictures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706134659/http://www.subwaynut.com/irt/242n1/index.html |date=July 6, 2020 }}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.889661,-73.898096&spn=0.001,0.002406&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.889736,-73.898061&panoid=4DjDmFAUGz2Ntc6mbd8c5Q&cbp=12,99.14,,0,4.41 242nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View]
* [https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8899087,-73.8962209,3a,63.8y,19.41h,37.32t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNdcHSHo2sbVeKbgm9wkGwkVW4Mis6v-eyalkTz!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNdcHSHo2sbVeKbgm9wkGwkVW4Mis6v-eyalkTz%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya310.205-ro0-fo100!7i8192!8i4096 Platforms from Google Maps Street View]
{{NYCS stations navbox by service|l1=y}}
{{NYCS stations navbox by line|7ave=yes}}
{{Broadway (Manhattan)|state=collapsed}}
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in the Bronx}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street (IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line)}}
[[Category:IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations]]
[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx]]
[[Category:New York City Subway stations in the Bronx]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1908]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 9]]
[[Category:Riverdale, Bronx]]
[[Category:New York City Subway stations at university and college campuses]]
[[Category:1908 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Heins and LaFarge buildings]]
[[Category:New York City Subway terminals]]