181st Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

181st Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	West 181st Street & Saint Nicholas Avenue New York, NY 10033
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Washington Heights
Coordinates
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M3, Bx3, Bx11, Bx13, Bx35, Bx36 GWB Bus Station (at 179 St)
Structure	Underground
Depth	120 feet (37 m)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	March 16, 1906 (1906-03-16)
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	3,779,275  0.8%
Rank	135
Station succession
Next north	191st Street: 1
Next south	168th Street: 1
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
Location
181st Street Subway Station (IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference #	05000224
Added to NRHP	March 30, 2005

181st Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times.

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/Entrance (Elevators in mezzanine. Note: Platforms and street level are not accessible)
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
P Platform level	Side platform, doors open on the right
	Northbound	← toward Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street (191st Street)
	Southbound	→ toward South Ferry (168th Street) →
	Side platform, doors open on the right

File:181stairirtjeh.jpg

Street stair

This station is 120 feet (37 m) below the surface, has four elevators, and a bridge connecting the two side platforms. There is only a set of emergency stairs for emergency egress in case of a fire, causing all riders to take an elevator at all times. The station serves Yeshiva University and the George Washington Bridge.

The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. As part of the Multiple Property Submission of the Historic Resources of the New York City Subway System, the 181st Street Station is significant in the areas of transportation, community planning, engineering, and architectural design.

Ceiling collapse

File:181stGWB.jpg

Station view before the 2009 ceiling collapse

On August 16, 2009, at around 10:30 pm, a 25-foot section of the bricks lining the roof of the station collapsed onto both uptown and downtown tracks and platforms. It fell from the 35 foot high curved ceiling. Nobody was injured at the time of the incident. This caused suspension of the 1 service between 168th Street and Dyckman Street stations in both directions for eight days. The MTA was providing free shuttle bus service between 168th Street and Dyckman for that period. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. Full end-to-end service on the 1 was restored on August 24, 2009, except that trains were skipping the 181st Street station. The station reopened to passengers on August 31, 2009.

There was also a partial ceiling collapse at the same station in 2007, according to Judith M. Kunoff, Chief Architect for the NYC Transit Authority.

According to NY1, the repairs to the station cost $30 million and did not start until the end of 2012.

External links

• nycsubway.org—IRT West Side Line: 181st Street
• Station Reporter – 1 Train
• The Subway Nut – 181st Street Pictures
• NRHP designation
• NRHP photos of station
• 181st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• St. Nicholas Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View