Grand Army Plaza (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)

Grand Army Plaza
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Wings for the IRT: The Irresistible Romance of Travel artwork on the mezzanine level of the station
Station statistics
Address Grand Army Plaza (north side) & Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Borough Brooklyn
Locale Park Slope
Coordinates 40°40′29″N 73°58′14″W / 40.674584°N 73.970518°W / 40.674584; -73.970518Coordinates: 40°40′29″N 73°58′14″W / 40.674584°N 73.970518°W / 40.674584; -73.970518
Division A (IRT)
Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services       2  (all times)
      3  (all except late nights)
      4  (late nights)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: B41, B69
Structure Underground
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened October 10, 1920 (1920-10-10)
Former/other names Grand Army Plaza – Prospect Park
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 2,433,907[1] Decrease 2.9%
Rank 201 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Bergen Street: 2  3  4 
Next south Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum: 2  3  4 

Grand Army Plaza is a local station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway. It is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, underneath Flatbush Avenue at its northwest intersection with Grand Army Plaza. It is served by the 2 and 3 trains, the latter of which is replaced by the 4 train during late nights.

History

Track layout
Legend
to Bergen St
to Brooklyn Museum

Grand Army Plaza opened on October 10, 1920 as part of the opening of the IRT Eastern Parkway Line, an extension of the Brooklyn IRT from Atlantic Avenue to Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum.[2] This extension was part of an expansion of the subway system known as the Dual Contracts which built not only IRT lines in Brooklyn but also those for the BMT. The BMT Brighton Line was already in use at the time but used trackage that is now part of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle; the opening of the subway line beneath Flatbush Avenue provided a more direct route to Downtown Brooklyn and, eventually, Manhattan.

The construction of the station and tunnels resulted in the removal of Frederic W. Darlington's 1897 Electric Fountain[3] from the center of Grand Army Plaza, which was dug up for the cut-and-cover construction and replaced with a grass oval. Construction began on a new fountain, known as the Bailey Fountain, in 1928, and it was completed in 1932.[4]

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Grand Army Plaza, along with those at four other stations on the Eastern Parkway Line, were lengthened to 525 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 51-foot IRT cars.[5]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
B1 Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
B2 Northbound local ← toward Wakefield – 241st Street (Bergen Street)
← toward Harlem – 148th Street ( toward Woodlawn late nights) (Bergen Street)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Southbound local → toward Brooklyn College – Flatbush Avenue (Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum) →
→ ( late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum) →
B3 Northbound express ← do not stop here
Northbound Brighton Line ← do not stop here (Seventh Avenue)
Southbound Brighton Line → do not stop here (Prospect Park) →
Southbound express → do not stop here →
Inside the station

At platform level, Grand Army Plaza has a simple island platform layout with two tracks.[6] Southbound (eastern Brooklyn-bound) trains use track E1 while northbound (Manhattan-bound) trains use track E4. Underneath the platform are four tracks, the center two, A4 (north) and A3 (south) carrying the BMT Brighton Line with tracks E2 and E3 carrying southbound and northbound express IRT Eastern Parkway Line trains on either side of the Brighton Line tracks, respectively.[7][8] These track designations are only displayed on small emergency placards on either end of the platform for use by train and emergency personnel; they are not used in everyday conversation.

The only mosaic in the Grand Army Plaza station is a small "P".[6] A permanent art installation in the station's entrances and mezzanine entitled Wings for the IRT: The Irresistible Romance of Travel was created in 1995 by Jane Greengold, who used the station regularly when she lived in Park Slope. The bronze and terra cotta pieces of art are modeled on the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company logo, and references the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch in the plaza above with its Winged Victories. The MTA's Arts for Transit program held an opening ceremony for the artwork on June 19, 1997.[9][10]

Entrances and exits

The station has four entrances and exits, all of which are staircases:[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Subway Stations Opened: Last Three in Eastern Parkway Branch of I.R.T. Put Into Service". New York Times. October 11, 1920. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  3. ↑ ‹The template Cite BDE is being considered for deletion.› "Our Newest Electric Toy". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. August 8, 1897. p. 13.
  4. ↑ New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Grand Army Plaza, accessed April 20, 2007
  5. ↑ Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
  6. 1 2 Grand Army Plaza (Brooklyn IRT) NYCSubway Retrieved 2009-07-05
  7. ↑ Brooklyn IRT: Grand Army Plaza
  8. ↑ Brooklyn IRT: Map 2, Brooklyn IRT Dual Contracts
  9. ↑ MTA – Arts for Transit: Grand Army Plaza, accessed April 20, 2007
  10. ↑ MTA Headquarters Press Release, MTA Installs Art In Grand Army Plaza Station, June 19, 1997, accessed April 20, 2007
  11. ↑ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Park Slope/Prospect Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.

External links

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