The Spring Street station is a local
station on the
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The IND Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway. Opened in 1932, it was the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND), and the ''Eighth Aven ...
of the
New York City Subway. Located at
Spring Street and
Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
(Avenue of the Americas) in the
Hudson Square
Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. To the north of the neig ...
and
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
neighborhoods of
lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
, it is served by the
C and
E trains, the former of which is replaced by the
A train during late nights.
History
The station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
(IND)'s initial segment, the
Eighth Avenue Line between
Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to:
Streets
* Chambers Street (Edinburgh), a street in Edinburgh, Scotland
* Chambers Street (Manhattan), a street in New York City, New York, USA
New York City Subway stations
* Chambers Street (BMT Nassau Street Line) ...
and
207th Street.
Extensions southward in 1933 and 1936 brought direct access to Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
on the IND Fulton Street Line
The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, running from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Roc ...
, while service from Spring Street to Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
became possible with the opening of the IND Queens Boulevard Line
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 ...
on August 19, 1933 to Jackson Heights.
The station was renovated as part of the 2010–2014 MTA Capital Program. An MTA study conducted in 2014 found that 31% of station components were out of date.
Station layout
Like most local subway stations, Spring Street has two side platforms and four tracks. The two center express tracks are used by the A train during daytime hours. A crossunder just within fare control allows a free transfer between directions.
Wall tiling suggests that fare controls and a crossunder have been removed from the north end of the station. The platforms have a blue trim line on a dark blue border (ultramarine blue and cobalt blue, with replacement tiles at the north end that are ultramarine blue and navy blue
Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue.
Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color n ...
). The name tablets consist of "SPRING ST" in white sans-serif font on a dark blue background with a lighter blue border. Beneath the trim line and name tablets are "SPRING" and directional signs in white lettering on a black border tiled onto the walls. Blue I-beam
An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shaped cr ...
columns run along the entire length of both platforms, with every other one having the standard black and white station signs.
Exits
All fare control
In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A s ...
areas are at platform level. The station's main ones are at the south end of the platform. Each contains banks of regular and HEET turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of peopl ...
s, a token booth, and a single staircase going up to Spring Street and Sixth Avenue. The one on the northbound side is built inside the headquarters for God's Love We Deliver
God's Love We Deliver (GLWD) is an American charitable organization founded in 1985 based in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 pop ...
and leads to the northeast corner while the one on the southbound side leads to the northwest corner.[ The southbound platform has an un-staffed HEET entrance that has a single staircase going up to the southwest corner of Vandam Street and Sixth Avenue.] There are also closed fare control areas at the north end of the station, which led to all four corners of the intersection of Prince Street/Charlton Street and Sixth Avenue.[
]
Artwork
In December 1984, Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar
Alfredo Jaar (; ; born 1956) is a Chilean-born artist, architect, photographer and filmmaker who lives in New York City. He is mostly known as an installation artist, often incorporating photography and covering socio-political issues and war— ...
rented all the ad space in the station for the month, and put up an installation he called "Rushes", which showed 81 photos he had taken of poor Brazilian workers digging in Serra Pelada, a government-run gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD''
See also
* ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith
* Gold mining
*G ...
. Scattered amongst them were signs giving world oil prices.
The 1994 artwork installed at the stairway of the northbound platform's fare control is a large, lively mosaic called ''New York City Subway Station'' by Edith Kramer
Edith Kramer (1916–2014) was an Austrian social realist painter, a follower of psychoanalytic theory and an art therapy pioneer.
Life and work
Kramer was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, in 1916. At age 13 Kramer began art lessons with Fr ...
. It consists of a single painting depicting 14th Street–Union Square on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East H ...
.
References
External links
*
* nycsubway.org �
New York Subway Station Artwork by Edith Kramer (1994)
* Station Reporter �
* Station Reporter �
Spring Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
Vandam Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
Platform from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, 8ave=yes
IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
Sixth Avenue
New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1932
1932 establishments in New York City
SoHo, Manhattan
Hudson Square