Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[4]: 21 However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[4]: 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.^[5]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[4]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[4]: 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,^[6] under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[4]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[5]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[4]: 182

The 137th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 133rd Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 182nd Street. Work on this section was conducted by L. B. McCabe & Brother, who started building the tunnel segment on May 14, 1900.^[6] The section of the West Side Line around this station was originally planned as a two-track line, but in early 1901, was changed to a three-track structure to permit train storage in the center track.^{[7]: 93 [8]: 189–190} A third track was added directly north of 96th Street, immediately east of the originally planned two tracks.^[9]: 14 By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[4]: 186 [10]} As late as October 26, 1904, the day before the subway was scheduled to open, the walls and ceilings were incomplete.^[11]

The 137th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch.^{[2][4]: 186} The opening of the first subway line helped contribute to the development of Morningside Heights and Harlem.^[12]: 8

Service changes and station renovations

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[13] the station was served by West Side local and express trains. Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and ended at 242nd Street in the Bronx. Local trains ran from City Hall to 242nd Street during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to South Ferry at other times.^[14] In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, 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. Local trains were sent to South Ferry, while express trains used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.^[15]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[16]: 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 $49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.4 million in 2023) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[17]: 15 The northbound platform at the 137th Street station was extended 150 feet (46 m) to the south,^[17]: 112 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[17]: 106 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910,^[16]: 168 and ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line on January 24, 1911.^{[16]: 168 [18]} Subsequently, the station could accommodate six-car local trains, but ten-car trains could not open some of their doors.^[19]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[20][21] Platforms at IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations between 103rd Street and 238th Street, including those at 137th Street, were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) between 1946 and 1948, allowing full ten-car express trains to stop at these stations.^[19] A contract for the platform extensions at 137th Street and eight other stations on the line was awarded to Spencer, White & Prentis Inc. in October 1946,^[22] with an estimated cost of $3.891 million.^[23] The platform extensions at these stations were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the platform extension at 137th Street opened.^[19][24] Simultaneously, the IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service.^[25] The route to 242nd Street became known as the 1.^[26] In 1959, all 1 trains became local.^[27]

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.^[28] A renovation of the 137th Street station was funded as part of the MTA's 1980–1984 capital plan.^[29] The MTA received a $106 million grant from the Urban Mass Transit Administration in October 1983; most of the grant would fund the renovation of eleven stations,^[30][31] including 137th Street.^[30] One of future U.S. president Barack Obama's first community organizing efforts after graduating from Columbia University was in conjunction with drawing attention to the poor condition of the station. In 1984 or 1985, Obama, who was working for the New York Public Interest Research Group, was among the leaders of May Day efforts to bring attention to the subway system, particularly the station serving CCNY. Obama traveled to stations to get people to sign letters addressed to local officials and the MTA. Obama was photographed holding a sign saying "May-Day! May-Day!! Sinking Subway System!"^[32][33]

In April 1988,^[34] the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of a skip-stop service: the 9 train.^[35] When skip-stop service started in 1989, it was only implemented north of 137th Street–City College on weekdays, and it was the northernmost local stop served by both the 1 and the 9.^[36][37][38] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.^[39][40]

On January 2, 2007, film student Cameron Hollopeter suffered a seizure in the station and fell off the platform onto the tracks. Wesley Autrey saved his life as a train was approaching.^[41] Autrey was given numerous awards and prizes,^[42][43] and his two daughters were given a scholarship.^[44]

In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the 137th Street–City College station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[45] In December 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $146 million contract for the installation of eight elevators across four stations, including 137th Street.^[46]

Design

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method.^[51]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[50]: 9 Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contained circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contained I-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[5]: 4 [50]: 9} There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^[50]: 9 The columns have been overlaid with heavy brick blocks.

The decorative scheme consists of silver and blue tile tablets (which may not have been original to the station design); white tile bands; a buff terracotta cornice; and green terracotta plaques.^[50]: 40 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[50]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and terracotta contractor Atlantic Terra Cotta Company.^[50]: 40 The mosaics are in pink and black. The ceramic cartouche is also in pink and shows a three-faced figure. The three faces represent "Respice", "Adspice", and "Prospice", and are an emblem of the nearby City College.

Track layout

In the past, 137th Street was sometimes used as a terminal station. There are switches north of the station that allow northbound trains to enter the underground 137th Street Yard, then return to the other side of the station for the next trip south. The center express track that passes through the station is currently unused in revenue service.^[47]

Just south of the station, the tracks emerge onto the Manhattan Valley Viaduct. The line is elevated at 125th Street, and then underground once again at 116th Street–Columbia University, allowing trains to maintain a relatively level grade while passing through highly uneven terrain.^[47]

Exits

Both platforms have same-level fare control containing a bank of turnstiles and staircases to the street. The northbound platform has two staircases on the east side of Broadway at 137th Street, and the southbound platform has a token booth and two staircases, one to each western corner of Broadway and 137th Street. There are no crossovers or crossunders to allow transfers between directions.^[52]