City Hall (R,W) - The SubwayNut

City Hall on the BMT is located beneath Broadway right outside the namesake institution. The presently opened station has a unique design consisting a very wide island platform for the two track line with a central fare control area placed directly on the platform just beneath the street. This fare control area has a central bank of turnstiles (one facing each direction) and some high turnstiles for closer access to the three streetstairs with more ornate railings along the Broadway sidewalk of City Hall Park with two across from Warren Street, and one basically at the NE corner of Murray Street and Broadway (it becomes a restricted access driveway into City Hall). The sections of the island platform are connected at either end of this unique fare control set-up. The walls of both platforms have a grey trim line with pictorial mosaic representations of City Hall along them.

The reason for this unique extra-wide island platform design is because there is a never opened lower level (the word abandoned is not appropriate) that has three tracks (with two island platforms) and was designed to connect to the former elevated tracks over the Brooklyn Bridge and provide also potential loop service via the both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges for the BMT. It is used for midday train storage. A staircase right beyond alongide the entrance to Warren Street that is fenced off both at its top and bottom lead down to this lower level whose yellow columns are clearly visible.
Photos 1-12: August 25, 2010; 13 & 13 & 14: September 2, 2011; 15: December 4, 2012; 16: November 16, 2011; 17: September 24, 2023

A rainy day outside City Hall the street stair across from Murray Street

Looking down the small fare control area in the middle of platform at City Hall

Passengers enter the City Hall Station

The two staircases up to Warren Street (and curves 90 degrees to reach the streets)

The Authorized Personal Only sign on the gate fencing off the staircase down to the new completed station turned mini storage yard beneath City Hall

Looking down the closed staircase to the storage yard beneath, the lights fully on what is a platform

A close-up of the rendition of City Hall that is the station's trimline

The downtown side of the platform, a sign directs passengers around the fare control area for uptown & Queens

The conductors stop board on the downtown platform has a sign beneath saying Bypass Courtlandt Street reminding them the stop is closed

Looking down the entry area from its northern end

An unusual sign: Uptown & Queens this track and where to go for Downtown & Brooklyn

The services on the downtown track

The two street stairs from Warren Street

The northern end of the fare control area at City Hall

The City Hall Station still closed post-Superstorm Sandy on November 28, 2021, it will re-open nearly a month after the storm on December 4

A former column sign now in the Transit Museum's Collection

Looking out a Brooklyn Bound R train at the very wide City Hall platform with fare control on it