42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue (New York City Subway)

42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue
New York City Subway rapid transit station complex
An entrance to the IND station.
Station statistics
Address	West 42nd Street between Fifth Avenue & Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10036
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates	40°45′17″N 73°59′03″W / 40.754799°N 73.984208°W / 40.754799; -73.984208Coordinates: 40°45′17″N 73°59′03″W / 40.754799°N 73.984208°W / 40.754799; -73.984208
Division	A (IRT), B (IND)
Line	IND Sixth Avenue Line IRT Flushing Line
Services	7  (all times) <7> (rush hours until 9:30 p.m., peak direction)       B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       D  (all times)       F  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M42, Q32, X17C, X17J, X22, X22A, X30, X31 MTA Bus: BxM2, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM20
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Other information
Wireless service	[1][2]
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	16,220,605 (station complex)[3]  2%
Rank	16 out of 422
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops weekdays only
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue is an underground New York City Subway station complex, consisting of stations on the IRT Flushing Line and IND Sixth Avenue Line, formerly without direct connection, now connected by a pedestrian tunnel. Located at 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan, it is served by the:

• 7, D, and F trains at all times
• B and M trains on weekdays
• <7> train on weekdays in the peak direction

Free transfers between the two stations were available on Mondays to Fridays from December 18, 1967, until 1968, by providing paper tickets to passengers, who would exit one station and follow the sidewalk in order to enter the other. The tunnel now permits leaving a train in one station and walking underground to one in the other, and takes away the need for transfer tickets.^[4] The entire station complex was fully renovated in 1998. There are three elevators to street level – one each located on the southwestern and northwestern corners of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, and one on the western side of Sixth Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets – but there are no elevators to either platform level, so the station complex is not fully ADA-accessible.

In 2010, it was rated the noisiest place in New York City.^[5][6]

Station layout

New entrance outside One Bryant Park (note: service discontinued since June 2010).

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, transfer passageway between platforms (Elevators at: NW corner of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue South side of 42nd Street west of Sixth Avenue West side of Sixth Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets Note: Platform levels are not accessible through any elevator)
B2	Southbound local	← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Culver (34th Street–Herald Square) ← toward Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (34th Street–Herald Square)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound express	← toward Brighton Beach (34th Street–Herald Square) ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via West End (34th Street–Herald Square)
	Northbound express	→ toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center) → → toward Norwood–205th Street (47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound local	→ toward Jamaica–179th Street (47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center) → → toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center) →
B3	Southbound	← toward 34th Street–Hudson Yards (Times Square)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Northbound	→ toward Flushing – Main Street (Grand Central) →

IRT Flushing Line platform

Fifth Avenue
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Entrance to the IRT section of the complex
Station statistics
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Flushing Line
Services	7  (all times) <7> (rush hours until 9:30 p.m., peak direction)
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	March 22, 1926 (1926-03-22)
Former/other names	Fifth Avenue – Bryant Park
Station succession
Next north	Grand Central: 7  <7>
Next south	Times Square: 7  <7>
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

Track layout
Legend
to Grand Central to Times Square

Fifth Avenue (signed as Fifth Avenue – Bryant Park) on the IRT Flushing Line has a local station configuration with two tracks, but serves the 7 train at all times, and the <7> train on weekdays in the peak direction.

History

The Fifth Avenue station opened on March 22, 1926, extending the IRT Flushing Line one stop to the west from the line's previous terminus at Grand Central.^[7] This station served as the western terminus of the line until the Times Square station on the line opened on March 14, 1927.^[8]

The platforms at Fifth Avenue and all other stations on the Flushing Line with the exception of Queensboro Plaza were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains.^[9]

Layout

This station has two tracks and one island platform. The platform walls have a mosaic golden trimline with "5" tablets at regular intervals along it.

The station has a full length mezzanine directly above the platform and tracks. The full-time fare control is at the east end. A single stair on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in front of the New York Public Library goes down to an area that has a full-time token booth and turnstile bank that leads to several staircases down to the platform. Towards the west end, the mezzanine splits in two with one portion becoming a down hill ramp where there is another staircases up from the platform before leading to the passageway to the IND Sixth Avenue Line. The portion of the mezzanine that curves up leads to some HEET turnstiles and a small fare control area. The two adjacent street stairs here have elaborate ironwork and go up to the south side of 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on the northern edge of Bryant Park.

The 2002 artwork here is called Under Bryant Park by Samm Kunce. It is located in the transfer passageway and consists of glass mosiac and etched granite depicting roots of trees with various literacy quotes.

The Fifth Avenue station is the first within the subway system to receive a vending machine that dispenses make up and other retail products. It is part of a pilot program to increase retail activity within the MTA system, and it capitalizes on a new trend in vending machine development.^[10]

Platform overview

IND Sixth Avenue Line platforms

42nd Street – Bryant Park
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Uptown and Queens platform with stairway to transfer.
Station statistics
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services	B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)       D  (all times)       F  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	December 15, 1940 (1940-12-15)
Station succession
Next north	47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center: B  D  F  M
Next south	34th Street–Herald Square: B  D  F  M
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops weekdays only

Track layout
Legend
to 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr to 34 St–Herald Sq

42nd Street–Bryant Park, opened on December 15, 1940 as part of the opening of the IND Sixth Avenue Line from 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center to West Fourth Street.^[11] It is an express station, with four tracks and two island platforms. B and D trains stop at the inner express tracks while F and M trains stop at the outer local tracks.

Both outer track walls have a scarlet red trim line with a chocolate brown border and small white "42" signs on a black background below them at regular intervals. Red i-beam columns run along both sides of both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering. Some of the columns between the express tracks have black "42" signs on a white background.

This station has a full length mezzanine above the platforms and tracks. It originally extended south from 42nd Street to the 34th Street–Herald Square station, with additional entrances at 38th Street. The passageway was long, dim, and lightly traveled, and it was finally closed in 1991 after a series of rapes took place there.^[12] It is now used for storage. The mezzanine has a florist, and orange I-beam columns and lit-up ads and space rentals along the walls. On either end of the mezzanine is a fare control area. The full-time side is at the north end. This is where the passageway to the IRT Flushing Line is located. Two staircases from each platform go up to a turnstile bank, where outside there is a token booth, one staircase going up to the southwest corner of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, and a passageway through some abandoned ticket counters under 1095 Avenue of the Americas that lead to a staircase that goes up to the building's pedestrian plaza.

On the south end of the mezzanine, two staircases from each platform go up to an unstaffed bank of regular and HEET turnstiles. Outside fare control, there are four staircases going up to all corners of 40th Street and Sixth Avenue with the northwest one being built inside a building.

This station has another fare control area at its extreme north end. A staircase from each platform goes up to a mezzanine, where a bank of regular and HEET turnstiles provide access to/from the station. Outside fare control, there is a Customer Assistance Booth and a staircase built inside 1100 Avenue of the Americas (HBO headquarters) that goes up to the northeast corner of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue. Two modern, glass-enclosed staircases, and one elevator go up to the northwest corner of this intersection outside of the Bank of America Tower. Another elevator, located within a building, leads from the mezzanine to the southwest corner of the intersection via a staircase and wheelchair ramp. One more elevator was created for the 40th Street mezzanine, but was built at the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 39th Street. However, because there are no elevators from the mezzanine to the platforms, the platforms themselves are not ADA-accessible.

South of this station, there are three sets of crossovers, allowing trains to switch between all four tracks. Those switches are not currently used in revenue service.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue (New York City Subway).

• nycsubway.org – IRT Flushing Line: 5th Avenue
• nycsubway.org – IND Sixth Avenue: 42nd Street/Bryant Park
• nycsubway.org — Early Color Artwork by Saul Leiter (2007)
• nycsubway.org — The Sixth Avenue Elevated, 1878 Artwork by W. P. Snyder (unknown date)
• nycsubway.org — 42nd Street Nocturne Artwork by Lynn Saville (2006)
• nycsubway.org — Under Bryant Park Artwork by Samm Kunce (unknown date)
• nycsubway.org — Underground Exposure Artwork by Travis Ruse (2009)
• Station Reporter — 42nd Street/Bryant Park Complex
• The Subway Nut — 42nd Street – Bryant Park / Fifth Avenue (7) Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 42nd Street – Bryant Park/5th Avenue
• 42nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Park entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 40th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Fifth Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Sixth Avenue (west) entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Sixth Avenue (east) entrance from Google Maps Street View
• IND platforms from Google Maps Street View
• IRT platform from Google Maps Street View