Construction and opening

Original plan of the Brooklyn Bridge station (lower-right corner) as well as the City Hall Loop

The station under construction in 1904

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[16]: 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.^{[16]: 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.^[17]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[16]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[16]: 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,^[18] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[16]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[17]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[16]: 182

The Brooklyn Bridge station was constructed as part of the IRT's original line south of Great Jones Street. The Degnon-McLean Contracting Company was awarded the contract for Section 1, from the City Hall loop to Chambers Street, and the contract for Section 2, from Chambers Street to Great Jones Street. Work began on Section 1 on March 24, 1900, and work began on Section 2 on July 10, 1900.^[18] Initially, Parsons was unsure whether to connect the new subway to the existing Brooklyn Bridge, the under-construction Manhattan Bridge, or the newly-completed Williamsburg Bridge.^[19][20] As such, no plans had been drawn up for the eastern portion of the Brooklyn Bridge station or its approaches by early 1903, which caused delays in ordering steel.^[21]

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.^{[16]: 186 [22]} In addition, the Brooklyn Bridge station itself remained unfinished as late as February 1904.^[23] The Brooklyn Bridge 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.^{[24][16]: 186} The station's first-ever passenger was described by Newsday as an "anonymous middle-aged Brooklyn woman who picked up her skirt and raced down the rubber-covered stairs three at a time to beat out the rest of the crowd".^[25] Express trains were extended south on January 16, 1905, when a 0.3-mile (0.48 km)-long extension to Fulton Street opened.^[26]

1900s to 1920s

The station was originally placed on a sharp curve, requiring the installation of platform gap fillers.^[27] Initially, the Brooklyn Bridge station was served by local and express trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street). Express trains had their southern terminus at South Ferry or Atlantic Avenue and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street, Lenox Avenue (145th Street), or West Farms (180th Street).^[28] Express trains to 145th Street were later eliminated, and West Farms express trains and rush-hour Broadway express trains operated through to Brooklyn.^[29]

Experimental cooling system at the Brooklyn Bridge station

One of the station's entrances was closed in 1905 because the Rapid Transit Commission had not authorized the entrance's construction.^[30] As part of an experiment to improve the subway line's ventilation, the commission installed ventilation fans at the station in June 1905.^[31] Two large cooling fans were installed at the station the next month;^[32][33] this was later increased to four fans.^[32][34] The Rapid Transit Commission added a refrigeration plant to the station in August 1906. The plant consisted of four pumps at the northern end of the station, which could draw up to 300 or 400 U.S. gallons per minute (19 or 25 L/s) of groundwater; the water was then chilled and sent through ducts above the platforms.^[35][36]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[37]: 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 $47.1 million in 2022) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $15.7 million in 2022) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[38]: 15 At the Brooklyn Bridge station, the northbound island platform was extended 15 feet (4.6 m) north and 135 feet (41 m) south, while the southbound island platform was extended 165 feet (50 m) south, necessitating the relocation of some tracks.^{[38]: 106–107} Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[37]: 168 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the Lenox Avenue Line, and the following day, ten-car express trains were inaugurated on the West Side Line.^{[37]: 168 [39]}

By 1914, city engineers had prepared plans for the construction of five additional entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge station: three to the street and two to nearby buildings. At that point, nearly two-fifths of commuters entered the station through a single entrance below the bridge.^[40] In 1918, the Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line.^[41] In 1922, the Rapid Transit Commission awarded a contract to the Wagner Engineering Company for the installation of navigational signs at the Brooklyn Bridge station and several other major subway stations. The IRT platforms received blue-and-white signs.^[42][43]

1930s to 1960s

The Transit Commission requested in 1938 that the IRT spend $70,000 (equivalent to $1,455,000 in 2022) to add platform gap fillers to the northbound platform; the absence of gap fillers had resulted in passenger injuries 26 times in the preceding two years.^[44] The same year, as part of a remodeling of City Hall Park, city parks commissioner Robert Moses proposed removing two of the station's exit stairways and relocating two entrance stairs.^[45] With the closure of the City Hall station at the end of 1945,^[46][47] the Brooklyn Bridge station became the southernmost station for local services that formerly terminated at City Hall.^[14]: 4 As part of a reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1951, the city planned to build a subway entrance just south of the bridge approach.^[48] The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) also announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights above the edges of the station's platforms.^[49]

Disused gap fillers on the original southern extension of the northbound platform

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the NYCTA undertook a $138 million (equivalent to $1.39 billion in 2022) modernization project for the Lexington Avenue Line.^[50] As part of the modernization program, the NYCTA announced in early 1957 that the Brooklyn Bridge station would be extended about 250 feet (76 m) to the north and that the platforms would be widened and straightened to remove the need for gap fillers.^[51][52] At the time, the island platforms narrowed at their northern ends to 5 feet (1.5 m), while the local side platforms could only accommodate four cars, resulting in delays.^[50][27] In addition, the express platforms could not accommodate 10-car trains because of the gap fillers at the southern end of the station.^[27] Since the northern end of the expanded station would be only about 600 feet (180 m) from the Worth Street station, the latter station was to be closed.^[51][52] The NYCTA allocated $6 million to the station's renovation in January 1959.^[27][53] Harold Sandifer of the NYCTA designed the renovation in conjunction with the planned redevelopment of the Civic Center neighborhood.^[27]

Work started on May 18, 1959.^[50] The project lengthened the platforms from 295 feet (90 m) to 523 feet (159 m) and widened them.^[9][50] The platforms were extended northward by 220 feet (67 m) to just south of Reade Street.^[27][50][53] In addition, a new exit was provided at Reade Street and Lafayette Street, and a new passageway under Reade Street was built connecting to the Chambers Street station on the BMT Nassau Street Line. At the center of the enlarged platforms, a new overpass was built, providing more direct access to the Municipal Building.^[9][27][50] The tile walls on the unused eastern side platform were completed in December 1959, and a signal tower, maintainers' rooms, relay rooms, and tile walls on the unused western side platform were completed in May 1960.^[54]

A temporary transfer passageway to the Chambers Street station opened in June 1961, while the old passageway was being demolished.^[55] The downtown platform's extension opened in 1961,^[8] and the uptown platform's extension opened on August 31, 1962.^[8][56] The overpass and the permanent passageway to the Chambers Street station opened in June 1963,^[57] and the platform extension project was substantially completed by the end of 1963.^[54] The old platform extensions at the southern end of the station, which were used for express service and had gap fillers, were abandoned. The project cost $6 million; it allowed trains on the 6 route to be lengthened to nine cars, and allowed ten-car express trains to open all doors at the station (previously, only the doors of eight cars had opened). Upon the completion of the renovation, the Brooklyn Bridge station was renamed Brooklyn Bridge–Worth Street.^[8][9]

1970s to present

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers dedicated a plaque at the Brooklyn Bridge station in 1978, recognizing the original IRT line as "the first fully electrically signaled railroad in the United States and the first practical subway in New York City".^[58] This plaque was removed before 2005.^[58] The MTA announced in late 1978 that it would modernize the Brooklyn Bridge station. The improvements included new finishes on the walls and floors; acoustical, signage, and lighting improvements; replacement of old mechanical equipment; and new handrails.^[59] In 1983, the MTA added funding for a renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station to its 1980–1984 capital plan.^[60] In addition, to speed up passenger flow, dozens of platform conductors were assigned to direct crowds on the Lexington Avenue Line platforms during the late 1980s.^[61]

In April 1993, the New York State Legislature agreed to give the MTA $9.6 billion for capital improvements. Some of the funds would be used to renovate nearly one hundred New York City Subway stations,^[62][63] including Brooklyn Bridge.^[64] Three elevators opened in 1992, making the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The elevators cost $3.4 million (equivalent to $6.5 million in 2022) and connected the mezzanine to the street and to each platform.^[65] The station was renamed Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall by the mid-1990s. The renovation was completed in 1996; the station was one of thirteen citywide whose renovations were completed that year at a total cost of $127 million (equivalent to $243.9 million in 2022).^[66]

Construction and opening

Former ticket booths at Chambers Street

After the original IRT opened, the city began planning new lines. The Centre Street Loop (later the Nassau Street Line) was approved on January 25, 1907, as a four-track line;^[67] it was to connect the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge via Centre Street, Canal Street, and Delancey Street.^[68] Unlike previous subway contracts that the city government had issued, the BRT was responsible only for constructing the Centre Street Loop and installing equipment, not for operating the loop.^[69] Construction contracts for the Nassau Street Line were awarded in early 1907.^[16]: 203 A proposed Tri-borough system was adopted in early 1908, incorporating the Nassau Street Line. Operation of the line was assigned to the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; after 1923, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT^[70]) in the Dual Contracts, adopted on March 4, 1913.^{[16]: 203–219 [71]}

The Chambers Street station was built as part of contract 9-O-1, which cost $1.226 million (equivalent to $39,931,000 in 2022).^{[72]: 174–175} It was to sit under the Manhattan Municipal Building, a large office structure being planned for the city government. One of the conditions of an architectural design competition for the Municipal Building was that its foundation could not block train tracks, stairways, or platforms.^{[73]: 367–368 [74]} As such, the caissons in the building's foundation were positioned to avoid the station's platforms.^[75] Although McKim, Mead & White were selected for the building's construction,^[76] their original plans were rejected by the city's buildings superintendent because he felt that the underlying layer of soil and sand was not strong enough to carry the building.^{[73]: 372–373 [77]} Uncertainty over the building's design resulted in delays in the construction of the proposed Brooklyn loop station underneath it, even as the rest of the line was nearly completed by early 1909.^[77][78] Furthermore, the BRT did not originally want to operate the loop.^[79]

The Public Service Commission proposed in February 1909 to expand the station to six tracks, which would allow the station to serve a proposed subway under Third Avenue, in addition to the Williamsburg Bridge and Manhattan Bridge lines.^[80][81] The commission estimated that the change would cost $600,000, not including land-acquisition costs of $1.055 million.^[81] The New York City Board of Estimate approved $875,000 for the station's widening that July, excluding funds for land acquisition.^[82][83] By April 1910, the Public Service Commission sought to downsize the station to four tracks, as it would have been not only very difficult but also extremely expensive to modify the Municipal Building's foundation to accommodate the expanded station.^[84] Ultimately, the BRT's Chambers Street station was built with five platforms and four tracks.^[85] The BRT tunnel under Centre Street was completed by 1910, except for the section under the Municipal Building,^[86][87] but the tunnel remained unused for several years.^[88] In March 1913, the Public Service Commission authorized the BRT to lay tracks, install signals, and operate the loop.^[88][89] The Bradley Construction Company was hired to install station finishes; by June 1913, the firm had completed the installation of tile and marble, and it was working on plastering.^[90]

The BRT's Chambers Street station opened on August 4, 1913,^[91][92] relieving traffic on elevated lines that had used the Brooklyn Bridge.^[93] Originally, trains arrived from the north via either the Williamsburg Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge, as the connection to the Montague Street Tunnel had not yet been completed. The loop configuration permitted trains arriving in either direction from the Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn to pass through Chambers Street and return to Fourth Avenue without having to reverse direction.^[91] Chambers Street was designed to be the BRT's Manhattan hub near City Hall, as the business and population center of the city was still near Manhattan island's southern end at the time.^[94][95] Initially, trains only used the western two tracks of the Centre Street tunnel, and the station was not served by Manhattan Bridge trains.^{[96]: 175–176} The station remained incomplete for more than a year after it had opened, and workers temporarily suspended construction at the station from November 1913 to March 1914. The remaining work, which included installation of staircases and completion of ceilings, was completed on September 14, 1914.^[97]: 174

1920s to 1950s

The Chambers Street station's central island platform, as well as the side platforms, were abandoned after 1931.^[15]: 9

A track connection between the Brooklyn Bridge's elevated-railroad tracks and the Centre Street tunnel was planned in the station's design.^[98] The BRT had agreed to build the loops in September 1913,^[99] and, according to a 1916 report, the connection had been completed for just over $740,000 (equivalent to $19,900,795 in 2022).^[100] However, the connection was never opened^[101][102] because the BRT did not want to pay the annual rental fee that was mandated for the usage of the connection.^[100] The overpass across William Street was closed in 1913 to make way for the proposed connection. In 1929, the overpass was reopened after it became clear that the connection would not be built.^[103] The finished portions of the tunnel to the Brooklyn Bridge led directly to wine vaults under the bridge.^[104] The masonry and steel ramp connecting to the Brooklyn Bridge was demolished in the early 1950s when the bridge's elevated tracks were removed.^[48]

Three years after the Chambers Street station opened, its platforms were so overcrowded that one New York Times article described them as "more dangerous during the rush hours than at the Grand Central or the Fourteenth Street Stations", in part because more space was devoted to stairways than to platforms.^[105] In 1921, the BRT added a first-aid room at the northern end of the Chambers Street station's center island platform; at the time, the IRT's Brooklyn Bridge station also had a first-aid room.^[106] The next year, the Wagner Engineering Company installed red-white-and-green navigational signs at the BMT station, in conjunction with the addition of navigational signs to the IRT station.^[42][43] The station's platforms originally could only fit six 67-foot-long (20 m) cars. In April 1926, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) received bids for the lengthening of platforms at three stations on the Centre Street Loop, including the Chambers Street station, to accommodate eight-car trains.^[107] The Board of Estimate approved funds for the project in July 1926,^[108] and the extensions were completed in 1927, bringing the length of the platforms to 535 feet (163 m).^[109][110]

By the mid-1920s, the subway itself was pushing the city's population north and leaving Chambers Street behind.^[94][95] Nonetheless, the city government agreed in 1927 to extend the Nassau Street Line from the Chambers Street station south to the Montague Street Tunnel to Brooklyn, as was required under the Dual Contracts.^[111][112] The extension would permit trains from southern Brooklyn to loop through Lower Manhattan without reversing direction (a service pattern known as the Nassau Street Loop), rather than using the Manhattan Bridge and terminating at Chambers Street.^[113] The line was completed in 1931, and the Chambers Street station became a through station.^[114][115] At this point, the BMT's center island platform and the two side platforms were closed.^[15]: 9 A new northern mezzanine was built in 1938 when the entrances under the north side of the Municipal Building were closed.^{[15]: 9 [116]} This mezzanine was built by the Cayuga Construction Company.^[116]

1960s to present

An elevator at the Chambers Street station, opened in 2020^[117]

The western side platform was demolished with the expansion of the IRT station between 1960 and 1962.^[15]: 9 The Chrystie Street Connection, opened in 1967, severed the Nassau Street Line's connection to the Manhattan Bridge, so that the bridge tracks could connect instead to the uptown IND Sixth Avenue Line.^[118] The new connection preserved Nassau Street service via the Montague Street Tunnel, but trains were no longer able to run in a loop.^[119] In 1990, all weekend service on the Nassau Street Line was eliminated south of Chambers Street;^[120] this continued until 2015.^[121]

By 2000, the MTA had announced plans to make the Chambers Street station ADA-accessible. The agency had been required in 1994 to create a list of 100 "key stations" that it planned to make ADA-accessible, and the Chambers Street station was one of the last "key stations" to be selected.^[122] The Chambers Street station, having fallen into disuse over the years, was voted the ugliest station in the system in a 2003 poll of railfans.^[123] The station's token booths were shuttered in May 2005, after fare tokens were replaced with MetroCards; station agents were deployed elsewhere in the station to answer passengers' queries. This was part of a pilot program that was tested at seven other stations.^[124]

The MTA announced in May 2018 that it would start renovating the Chambers Street station that August.^[125] At the time, local news station NY1 said: "It is easily one of the most decrepit stations in the city's entire system",^[125] and a writer for The Village Voice said that the station "was the undisputed poster station of the system's decay".^[126] A contract for the elevators' construction was awarded in August 2018.^[127] The station received two elevators to the platforms, as well as three new ramps in the mezzanine: one in the corridor between the IRT and BMT stations, and one from the BMT mezzanine to each platform elevators. The station platforms were modified to reduce the gap between trains and the platform edges, and a pedestrian bridge was installed above the tracks, connecting both of the open platforms. To accommodate the ramps, elevators, and pedestrian bridge, portions of the station and mezzanine were removed or reconfigured. These improvements made the station compliant with the ADA,^[125][128] and were funded as part of the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program.^{[129][130][131][132]} The project was to take at least 24 months to be completed.^[133] The elevators had opened by September 1, 2020.^[117][134]