63 Drive-Rego Park
63 Drive Rego Park is a local stop on the Queens Blvd Line with two side platforms and a slightly complicated mezzanine/platform exit design. Starting at western end of each platform, each platform has a small on platform fare control area where you must already have a MetroCard (there are no MVMs) with 3 turnstiles that each lead out to a streetstair. The Manhattan-bound platform leads out to Queens Blvd and the middle of the very short black between 63 Road and Junction Blvd. The Forest Hills-bound platform leads out across the street to the SE corner of 63 Drive (which jogs a block via Queens Blvd above the station) and Queens Blvd.
Next approximately half-way down the platforms, the station's mezzanine begins. The mezzanine starts with a staircase up to a narrow area of it with a free crossover here turnstiles lead out to the token booth, and two station exits. One exit is via a streetstair to the NW corner of 63 Drive (it's northern section) and Queens Blvd, a second exit is across the street midblock through a storefront and a shopping arcade that opened in 1941 (there used to be a regular streetstair from the lines opening on December 31, 1936 until 1941). The mezzanine then gets to a very unusual layout split into two, because of a large ventilation shaft up to grates in the median of Queens Blvd primarily above the express tracks. The Manhattan-bound side of the mezzanine is a regular within fare control narrower mezzanine with an additional bank of turnstiles by the token booth before continuing with 3 evenly placed staircases down to the platform below before ending at some high Entrance/Exit turnstiles by the station's eastern exit where the mezzanine resumes its full width, just above the eastern ends of the platforms.
The Forest Hills-bound portion of the split mezzanine is narrower with a narrow passageway outside of fare control divided off by a chain-link fence to allow passengers to walk from the eastern exit to 34 Avenue to the token booth. This mezzanine also has 3 staircases at even intervals down to its platform. This mezzanine begins with 3 High Exit Only Turnstiles across from the token booth and ends with 3 Exit (one also entrance) turnstiles to the 64th Avenue exit. The two streetstairs at this exit lead up to the NW corner of 64th Avenue and Queens Blvd, and across Queens Blvd a short distance east of 64 Road. There are a few MVMs at this end of the station so passengers can buy fares without walking down the narrow corridor to the token booth.
The color scheme of the side platforms is teal trim (and the standard black border around it) with teal borders around the name tablets and the columns painted a light blue. This station also has 63rd Drive signs on the beams between the express and local tracks. On none of the station signage is Drive abbreviated as Dr, drive is abbreviated to Dr on the subway map for the only subway stop with Drive in its name. When you webmaster was a child and liked looking at subway maps he couldn’t conceive that Dr stood for Drive, and not Doctor, so he thought the name of the station was 63 Doctor-Rego Park. Lots of old original hand painted signage along the walls of the station also still exists.
Photos 1-23: June 5, 2008; 24-35: September 27, 2014
Station Subway Lines (2001-2010)
