157th Street is a simple Heins & LaFarge era IRT local station that opened on November 12, 1904 just a couple of weeks after the subway's opening day. The station was never serviced by the 9 train during its existence from 1989 to 2005 since it was the first 1 train only station under skip-stops and 9 trains skipped the stop.
The station has two side platforms for the two-track line with two side platforms, with the line expanding to become 3 tracks at the 145 Street Station. The line becomes two tracks here to make the transition to the two track deep bore tunnel underneath Washington Heights were continuing the 3 track structure of the subway line (the third track resumes north of the tunnel between Dyckman Street and 207 Street) was seen as cost prohibitive.
There were originally staffed exits with token booths on either platform, until the token booth on the uptown platform was removed in 2012. The uptown slide leads to two staircases at the SE corner of 157 St & Broadway. The downtown platform leads to two streetstairs along the south side of 157 Street in the very tiny block between Broadway and Edward M Morgan Placed (a one block long street) which was named Audubon Place when the subway opened before it was renamed in 1926.
The station's features are like others down the line, notably 145 Street, 86 Street and 79 Street. Each stop has a similar terra cotta panels in the trim that have numerals of the station surrounded by two cornucopias (horns of plenty). Most of the original molding and name exists in the original portion of the station, the extension portion is tastefully similar to the original portion with mosaic 157s in the trim and the mosaic name tablets here look almost the same as the mosaic name tablets in the original portion of the station. On the uptown platform there is a brief area in the middle of the platform with 1950s 157 tiling.
Photos 1-2: November 9, 2003; 3-16: June 26, 2008; 17 & 18: May 21, 2010; 19-22: August 28, 2011
A train of Low-Vs stops at 145 Street on a fan trip, dropping off passengers wishing to photograph it on the middle, express track going through 125th Street.
The downtown platform, like at many IRT local stops gets quite wide towards it's center where the exit is.
A close up of a terra cotta 145 with the cornucopias on either side of it as decorations in the station trim.
Some of the ceiling’s terra cotta detailing is still in place at 145 Street.
145 signs still exist on the I-beams between the tracks. A uptown 1 train is leaving the station in this photo.
A name tablet at 145 Street with the terra cotta trim above it in the original portion of the station.
Looking towards an end of the platform at 145 Street, it gets significantly narrower.
A view towards the other end of the platform. The platform, fairly narrow and with many tiled over columns seems never ending.
A view down the extension portion of the station. There are 145 mosaics in a green trim with a blue border
A 145 tiled into the trim in the extension portion of the station.
Little 145s in the center of the walls in the extension portion of the station. They have blue borders
A 145th Street name tablet with IND looking lettering under it pointing to the station's only exit at 145th Street.
Another view of the extension portion of the station at 145 Street, the ceiling gets quite low before the tracks and the fact this part of the station was added later seems a bit evident.
There are lots of 145s in tile on the platform columns, all have a blue border/trim above the text just before the station's low ceiling.
Looking across the tracks to a closed off portion of the uptown tracks at 145 Street.
The fare control area on the uptown platform at 157 Street, approaching the turnstiles, there's a modern display, 'still under test,' it lists the upcoming 1 trains for BOTH platforms which is a little silly because there's no free crossover or under
A quite old (probably original) engraved plaque giving passengers instructions to reach Washington's Headquarters (Morris Jumel Mansion). The 163 Street station on the IND would be a lot closer
Taped off street stairs due to Hurricane Irene
Looking down the stairs more lines of tape, lights fully on
Last Updated: April 14, 2023
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