Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

The Canal Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located in Lower Manhattan at the intersection of Canal and Varick Streets. It is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

For other uses, see Canal Street (disambiguation).

 Canal Street
 "1" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
AddressCanal Street & Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
BoroughManhattan
LocaleSoHo, Tribeca, Hudson Square
Coordinates40.7226°N 74.0063°W / 40.7226; -74.0063
DivisionA (IRT)[1]
Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services   1 all times (all times)
​   2 late nights (late nights)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: M20
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918 (1918-07-01)
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20191,984,827[2] Increase 5.3%
Rank237 out of 424[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Houston Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street
Local		 Franklin Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward South Ferry
"3" train does not stop here
Location
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York
Canal Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Track layout

to Houston Street
to Franklin Street
Street map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends

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 1992.

History

Construction and opening
Mosaic name tablet
Mosaic of St. John's Chapel

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.[3][4][5]

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.[6] 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.[7][8]

Canal Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.[9][10] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[7]

Station renovations
View of the transition between the 1960s-era platform extension and the original station

To make room for the construction of the Holland Tunnel exit plaza, a subway entrance at the station was reconstructed.[14] In 1926, New York City, the New York State Bridge and Tunnel Commission, and the New Jersey Interstate Bridge and Tunnel Commission, reached an agreement to construct a passageway from the south side of Canal Street to the south side of Laight Street on the east side of Varick Street to replace the entrance.[15] The cost of the project was split between the Bridge and Tunnel Commissions and the City, and was the first project done to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.[16] Work on the project was underway in 1927. Pattelli & Wilson got the winning bid of $116,723 to construct the project.[17][18]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[19][20] On August 9, 1964, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced the letting of a $7.6 million contract to lengthen platforms at stations on the Broadway—Seventh Avenue Line from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station, including Canal 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.[21]

The station was renovated in 1992 by MTA New York City Transit's in-house staff, and the passageway and the two staircases to the corner of Laight Street and Varick Street were closed.[22]

Station layout
One of the two staircases to the uptown platform from the northeast corner of Canal and Varick Streets
Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Platform level Side platform
Northbound local ← "1" train toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (Houston Street)
← "2" train toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (Houston Street)
Northbound express ← "2" train"3" train do not stop here
Southbound express → "2" train"3" train do not stop here →
Southbound local → "1" train toward South Ferry (Franklin Street) →
→ "2" train toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (Franklin Street) →
Side platform

This station has two side platforms and four tracks. The station is served by the 1 at all times[23] and by the 2 during late nights;[24] the center express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours.[24][25] The station is between Houston Street to the north and Franklin Street to the south.[26] The platforms are mildly offset, and although there are no crossovers or crossunders to allow free transfers between directions, there is evidence of a sealed crossunder on both of the platforms. Beige I-beam columns run along both platforms, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

This underground station is located on the street of the same name, which is the boundary of SoHo and Tribeca. Lying within a block of three different pocket parks (St. John's Park, Duane Park, and Cavala Park), the station sits at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel outside of the Tribeca North Historic District.[27] Much of the surrounding area is characterized by its historic loft architecture.

Exits

Fare control is on platform level for both sides. The two northbound street stairs are on the northeast corner of Varick Street and Canal Street, and the two southbound street stairs are on the northwest corner.[28] The northeast-corner entrances have been floodproofed.[29][30] At the end of the uptown platform, there was a free zone passageway that had two staircases to Laight and Varick Streets; it was not monitored and was closed down for security reasons.[22]

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. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  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 October 30, 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. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. Commission, New York State Bridge and Tunnel (1922). Report of the New York State Bridge and Tunnel Commission. J.B. Lyon Company, printers. p. 15. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  15. Commission, New York (State) Transit (1926). Proceedings of the Transit Commission, State of New York. p. 457. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  16. Apportionment, New York (N Y. ) Board of Estimate and (1926). Report of the Chief Engineer. p. 26. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  17. Transportation, New York (N Y. ) Board of (1927). Proceedings of the Board of Transportation of the City of New York. The Board. p. 1087. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  18. Transportation, New York (N Y. ) Board of (1928). Proceedings of the Board of Transportation of the City of New York. The Board. p. 485. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  19. "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.
  20. "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.
  21. "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.
  23. "1 Subway Timetable, Effective August 12, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  24. "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  25. "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  26. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  27. "Tribeca North Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  28. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: SoHo / Tribeca" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  29. Kirby, Jen (April 7, 2016). "Here's One Way the MTA Is Getting the Subway Ready for the Next Superstorm Sandy". Daily Intelligencer. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  30. "Can We Make Our Subways Flood-Proof Or What?". Popular Science. August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.

Further reading
  • Stookey, Lee (1994). Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system. Brattleboro, Vt: L. Stookey. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0. OCLC 31901471.
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