Substation #401, also called the "Essex Sub-station" is a historic New York City Subway

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

. This facility is located on the south side of Fulton Street, between Essex Street and Shepherd Avenue, in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn. It sits adjacent to the

BMT Jamaica Line The BMT Jamaica Line, also known as the Broadway - Brooklyn Line is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southe ...

between the Cleveland Street and Norwood Avenue stations. It was built in 1901 by the

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. ...

for the Cypress Hills extension of the

BMT Lexington Avenue Line The BMT Lexington Avenue Line (also called the Lexington Avenue elevated) was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporat ...

, and is a Beaux Arts style structure. ''See also:'' Through a series of acquisitions, it was passed over to the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, then the

New York City Board of Transportation The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (NYCBOT or BOT) was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in ...

, the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...

, and finally the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in t ...

(MTA), where it remains to this day. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 2005.

References

Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Transportation buildings and structures in Brooklyn Industrial buildings and structures in Brooklyn Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City Energy infrastructure completed in 1901 Transport infrastructure completed in 1901 Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn East New York, Brooklyn New York City Subway infrastructure National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn 1901 establishments in New York City {{Brooklyn-struct-stub