14 Street
14 Street on the IND 8 Avenue subway line is an express stop with two island platforms for the four track line. The track walls have a replica yellow-orange trimlines from a 1999 renovation with a narrow maroon boarder, and 14th written in black write on tiles beneath. There are even 14 St name tablets along the mezzanines. The bronze models Life Underground throughout the station installed under Arts For Transit are one of the highlights of the station. There is a single line of yellow-orange columns that run down each platform. Although the station is named 14 Street, the two island platforms for the 4 track line begin half-way between 14 Street and 15 Street and stretch to 17 Street beneath 8th Avenue. This is because the tracks begin curving just south of the station to follow Greenwhich Avenue, a diagonal street that begins between 13 Street and 14 Street to job east over to the West 4 Street Station, located under 6 Avenue.
The station has a longer than the platforms full-length mezzanine stretching all the way from 17 Street to 14 Street with the connection to the L train at 8th Avenue and an abandoned (and never within fare control) connecting tunnel beneath 14 Street to the 7 Avenue 1,2,3 Subway Lines and their 14th Street Station, with contiuning access to the still open within fare control tunnel to the 6th Avenue L train Station and 14 Street-6 Avenue F,V Station.
The northern end of the mezzanine between 17 Street and 16 Street is no longer in passenger use, with two slapped over streetstairs up to the SW and SE corners of 17 Street and 8 Avenue. This area is very much in non-public use as a track cleaning office and other employee rooms.
Next, is the first set of exits from the mezzanine start with an unstaffed bank of turnstiles at its northern that's open to the public end to 16 Street and 8 Avenue. Here there is a passageway and staircase up to the Port Authority Building (that also has its mosaics throughout the station) arriving right near the SW corner between the outer doors out to the street and inner doors into the building. The only way of knowing there is a subway station here is by a small unusual post on the sidewalk pointing towards the doors into the building. The other corners include two streetstairs at the NW and one each at the NE and SE. Just beyond the turnstiles the northern-most two staircases lead down to each platform
The mezzanine continues one block south with a corridor only above the express tracks to 15 Street. The areas above the local tracks have been carved into various non-public uses. At 15 Street there are two small fare control areas on each side of the mezzanine, each with two high entrance/exit turnstiles but no MVM (it's an enter with MetroCard only entrance). These small fare control areas are direclty at the upper landing of a set of two staircases down to each platform. Each as a single streetstair out to either the NE or NW corner of 8 Avenue and 15 Street. Just south of the 17th Street fare control area and it's staircases down to each platform is a very short ramp down (probably to keep the top of the elevator shaft from needing to break through to the sufrace above) to the elevator down to each platform.
Continuing south down the mezzanine there is one final staircase that's extra wide and leads down to the southern end of each platform. Conductors sometimes even announce 'Transfer to the L train at the front or back of the train.' This staircase is roughly halfway between 14 Street and 15 Street, the mezzanine continues south beyond here to end under 14 Street. At 14 Street two High Entrance/Exit turnstiles lead out (no space for an MVM) to a streetstair at the NE corner of 14 Street and 8 Avenue. On the opposite side is the main large banks of turnstiles and token booth after a small passageway within fare control (fenced off from the streetstair to the SE corner) along the eastern side of the mezzanine and leading to the elevator, staircase, and ramp to another staircase down to the L train platform below. This fare control area has a streetstair and platform elevator to the NW corner, and single streetstairs to the NW and NE corners of 14 Street and 8 Avenue. This entry area is home to NCYT signal school and other training areas for employees along the western side of the mezzanine on a former portion of the L trains mezzanine. Sings are visible from the public areas, including of a signal in front of the entrance to the signal school.
Photos 1 & 2: September 14, 2003; 3: September 6, 2005; 4 & 5: May 29, 2009; 6-9: August 13, 2008; 10-28: May 24, 2018; 29: January 18, 2012; 30: September 19, 2012; 31-34: January 26, 2012; 35: May 31, 2013
