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Houston Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound 1 train departing
Station statistics
Address	West Houston Street & Varick Street New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Greenwich Village, West Village, Hudson Square
Coordinates	40°43′43″N 74°00′19″W / 40.7286°N 74.0053°W / 40.7286; -74.0053
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​   2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M20, M21
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1918; 106 years ago (1918-07-01)
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2023	2,749,660  15.8%
Rank	123 out of 423
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Christopher Street–Stonewall1  ​2 toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local Canal Street1  ​2 toward South Ferry does not stop here
Location Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New York
Track layout Legend to Christopher Street to Canal Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends

The Houston Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at West Houston and Varick Streets in the Greenwich Village and Hudson Square neighborhoods of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

The station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the Dual Contracts with New York City, and opened on July 1, 1918. The station had its platforms extended in the 1960s, and was renovated in 1994.

History

Construction and opening

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension. It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.

Houston Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918. Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry. The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square. An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.

Later years

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. On August 9, 1964, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced the letting of a $7.6 million (equivalent to $74,662,661 in 2023) contract to lengthen platforms at stations on the Broadway—Seventh Avenue Line from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station, including Houston Street, and stations from Central Park North–110th Street to 145th Street on the Lenox Avenue Line to allow express trains to be lengthened from nine-car trains to ten-car trains, and to lengthen locals from eight-car trains to ten-car trains. With the completion of this project, the NYCTA project to lengthen IRT stations to accommodate ten-car trains would be complete.

This station was renovated in 1994 by in-house forces.

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (Christopher Street–Stonewall) ← toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (Christopher Street–Stonewall)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (Canal Street) → → toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (Canal Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. The station is served by the 1 at all times and by the 2 during late nights; the center express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours. The station is between Christopher Street–Sheridan Square to the north and Canal Street to the south.

In a fashion similar to the former 91st Street on the same line and 33rd Street on the Lexington Avenue Line, the two center tracks appears to descend within the confines of the station. As a result, the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station.

Both platforms have golden mosaic trim lines with blue and green borders and "H" tablets on a light blue background at regular intervals. The large name tablets read "HOUSTON ST." in gold font on a dark blue background and gold border. There are also directional tablets in the same style. Yellow I-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white Helvetica lettering.

The station's artwork, installed during a 1994 in-house renovation, is entitled Platform Diving by Deborah Brown. It consists of murals on both platforms depicting sea creatures in an underwater subway system.

Exits

All fare control areas in this station are at platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. On both sides, a turnstile bank leads to a two staircases going up to West Houston and Varick Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side. Only the Bronx-bound side has a token booth; the South Ferry-bound side is unstaffed.

Both platforms have an unstaffed secondary fare control area towards their south ends. Two high entry/exit turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile leads to two staircases going up to Varick and King Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side.

References

1. "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
3. "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
4. "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
5. "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
6. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
7. ^ Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
8. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
9. ^ "7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon". New-York Tribune. July 1, 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
10. "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
11. "Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance". The New York Times. July 1, 1917. p. RE11. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 99994412. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
12. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
13. "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
14. "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". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
15. "IRT Riders To Get More Train Room; $8.5 Million Is Allocated for Longer Stations and for 3 New Car Washers". The New York Times. August 10, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
16. "1 Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
17. ^ "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
18. "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
19. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
20. ^ "Platform Diving". MTA. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
21. "Museum Without Walls". CultureNow. May 9, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
22. ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: SoHo / Tribeca" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: Houston Street

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Broadway–  Seventh Avenue Local	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street 238th Street 231st Street Marble Hill–225th Street 215th Street 207th Street Dyckman Street 191st Street 181st Street 168th Street 157th Street 145th Street 137th Street–City College 125th Street 116th Street–Columbia University Cathedral Parkway–110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 79th Street 72nd Street 66th Street–Lincoln Center 59th Street–Columbus Circle 50th Street Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 28th Street 23rd Street 18th Street 14th Street Christopher Street–Stonewall Houston Street Canal Street Franklin Street Chambers Street WTC Cortlandt Rector Street South Ferry
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by line (physical trackage)
Broadway– Seventh Ave. Line ​​	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street 238th Street 231st Street Marble Hill–225th Street 221st Street 215th Street 207th Street Dyckman Street 191st Street 181st Street 168th Street * 157th Street 145th Street 137th Street–City College 125th Street 116th Street–Columbia University Cathedral Parkway–110th Street 103rd Street [← to Central Park North–110th Street, Lenox Ave. Line] 96th Street 91st Street 86th Street 79th Street 72nd Street 66th Street–Lincoln Center 59th Street–Columbus Circle 50th Street Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 28th Street 23rd Street 18th Street 14th Street Christopher Street–Stonewall Houston Street Canal Street Franklin Street Chambers Street South Ferry branch WTC Cortlandt Rector Street South Ferry South Ferry (loops) ​ Brooklyn branch Park Place Fulton Street Wall Street Clark Street Borough Hall [to Hoyt Street, Eastern Pkwy. Line →]
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Stations and line segments in italics are closed, demolished, or planned (temporary closures are marked with asterisks). Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. Struck through passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.

• IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1918
• 1918 establishments in New York City
• Greenwich Village
• West Village
• Hudson Square