72 Street (B,C) - The SubwayNut

72 Street is a local stop on the Central Park West Line with a stacked configuration with uptown trains on an upper level above downtown trains. Both local platforms are stacked and directly beneath the west side of Central Park West so there are no entrances on the park side of the street. This station has the standard blue name tablets with no actual trim line but little 72s mapping out where one would be, although in many places these 72s weren't restored in the station's 2018 renovation.

The main station exit is at the station's northern end where two staircases connect from the downtown to uptown platform. On the uptown platform is a fare control area with turnstiles and the token booth. Street stairs lead up to the SW and NW corner of Central Park West and 72 Street. The staircase to the NW corner is in the category of unusual street stairs designed to fit in with the metalwork fencing along The Dakota apartment building.

There is a secondary entrance at the southern end of the station with a single staircase up from the downtown platform to two high entrance turnstiles and a street stair up to the SW corner of 70 Street and CPW.

An abandoned exit used to lead up to 71 Street in the middle of the station. There is evidence of this from a fenced off staircase on the lower level downtown platform, a newer section of tiled walls with doors on it on the uptown platform and some 71 exit direction tiling now visible that had been covered by W 72 St signs but vandals have removed. Other exit tiling has been painted over or replaced by white tiles that stand out against the walls with still original tiles. This led up to a now removed streetstair up to the SW corner of 71 Street and Central Park West.

The station was closed from May 7 to October 4, 2018 to recieve a Cuomos sexy station renovation with the exit areas receiving new glass partitions, regular turnstiles replacing the high-level ones at the 70 Street end of the station, some of the 72 text trim line removed, new benches and leaning posts and modern digital displays along both platforms.
Photos 1 & 2: December 9, 2003; 3-5: July 25, 2008; 6-18: June 22, 2009; 19-24: June 24, 2011; 25: July 26, 2013; 26-36: October 8, 2018; 37: March 6, 2016; 38: November 25, 2023;

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Looking down the uptown platform

The 70 Street end of the station with single High Entrance and High Exit Only Turnstiles

A 72 column sign

A mosaic for a staircase for the lower level downtown platform

Small black 72 tiles where a trimline would be if the stop had one

Before the stairs on the ornate staircase in front of the Dakota

The main fare control area the token booth faces its turnstiles

Uptown or Downtown?

A 72^ND St name tablet

A downtown R32 C train stops at 72 Street

The gated off staircase from the downtown platform that once led to the upper level and the 71 Street exit and a name tablet with a tiled over arrow pointing towards that exit

The dirty closed off staircase from the downtown platform to 71 Street

The open staircase up to 70 Street's exit

A downtown mosaic (the stop has none for uptown since fare control is on that platform)

The two High Entrance/Exit Turnstiles to 70 Street (In 2007 one of these was an exit only)

The newer less yellowed wall with doors in it that was once the exit to 71 Street

A 72 Street name tablet with an odd sign covering the old exit direction arrow to the closed exit to 71 Street

Approaching the 72 Street exit's end with its two staircases down to the downtown platform

The staircase in front of the Dakota Apartment Building

The conventional street stair on the SW corner of 72 St and CPW

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