Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Please note: this text may be incomplete. For more information about this OCR, view About OCR text.

R E A L E S TAT E mm BUILDERS AND Vol. CII. NEW YORK, AUGUST 3, 1918 No. 5 New Subway Lines Will Make New York Greater Openiiig of the Dual System Mai'ked by Predictions of Increased Development of the Gity WITH the opening of express service on the east and west lines of the "H" subwa,y the Dual Rapid Transit System may be said to be prac- tically completed, although some of the outlying sec- tions are not quite ready for operation and the tunnels under the East River are not fĩnished. But whatever is left to be accomplished will be ready and added to the main system before the end of the year, and there will not be any further ceremony when these units in the general scheme of rapid transit for the whole city are ready. The lines of the system now completely operated by the beginning of express service this week are: The new Seventh avenue subway, comprising the sec- tion of the original subway north of Times Square and the new extension to the south, forming one side of a huge "H" to which may be likened the Interborough's part of the new dual system now in operation. The old express and local tracks of the old subway between the Grand Central Station and Times Square form the crossbar of the "H" and the new Lexington avenue tube comprises the opposite side of the letter. The Lexington avenue line is a composite of that part of the original subway south of Forty-second street and a new tube which follows Lexington avenue to and under the Harlem River, on the Bronx side of which it branches into two three-track lines, one run- ning eastward under Southern Boulevard and emerging as an elevated road at Whitlock avenue, where it crosses the Bronx River on a bridge and continues over West- chester avenue to Pelham Bay Park. The second fork runs under Mott and River avenues to 157th street, where it comes out of the ground, and, as an elevated road, continues up Jerome avenue to Woodlawn. From this branch a connection is made at 148th street with the old subway, so that some of the West Farms trains may be diverted from the old route across Harlem to Ninety-sixth street and Broadway, and be sent more dîrectly to the lower east side of Manhattan by the new Lexington avenue line. The Jerome avenue branch of the new line is already connected with the Ninth Avenue elevated line and a connection is under construction between the Third avenue elevated line and the White Plains Road ex- tension of the old subway, now one of the northern ends of the Seventh avenue subway. The Jerome av-, enue line is in operation to its end and the White Plains Road extension to within one station of its terminus, but the eastern end of the Pelham Bay Park line has been held back by lack of structural steel and cannot be opened for perhaps a year or more. New York has now the most extensive and most elaborately equipped subway in the world and one which has the greatest capacity. There are actually about 150 miles of roadway in the whole system, with something like 620 miies of trackage. The cost of the entire system, including the old subway and elevated lines is approximately $600,000.00 of which about $160,- 000,000 remains to be expended. As the backbone of the system are the two 4-track Imes on the east and west sides of Manhattan, formed partly by the old subway and partly by the new lines. Then there is the new 4-track Broadway line to 57th street, which forms the loop of the lines running into Brooklyn. These three 4-track roads, with the McAdoo and Queensboro tubes, come closest together at 42nd street, at Broadway and Lexington avenues. The 4- track roads branch ofif in almost every direction:so that any part of the city can easily be reached. There is only one fare of five cents with transfers at every point, except that the Broadway line does not transfer to the east and west side lines. • ' Many points which will become important plaães. df transfer have not been designated, nor can they b^ until operation of the new system discloses the'need for them. Existing transfer points are maintained as they have been operated, this, of course, including the Brooklyn as well as the Manhattan stations of the old lines and the new transfer stations of the B. R. T. Broadway line at Fourteenth street and Canal street. In addition to Times Square and the old junctions of the original subway, the chief transfer station on the Seventh avenue is at Park Place, where trains will branch ofí for Brooklyn. There is a connection at the Pennsylvania Station, by a passageway running under the avenue, with the new Pennsylvania Hotel, and there already is another at Cortlandt street with the Hudson Terminal Building, so that it is possible to change from the subway to the McAdoo tubes without mounting to the street. The most important transfer point on the new part of the Lexington avenue subway is at 125th street. which might be called the "Ninety-sixth street of the East Side Line." There change may be made from or to Jerome avenue, White Plains Road, or Pelham Bay Park trains. The actual division of the tracks occurs on the north side of the Harlem River at about 138th street, but the 125th street Station has been so designed that the trains will be sorted there and passengers transferred from one to the other. Ground was broken for the old subway at City Hall on March 24, 1900, by Mayor Robert A. Van Wyck. Previous to this the voters of the city, at a general election on Nov. 6, 1894, had declared for municipal construction by a vote of 132,647 to 42,916. Bids were prepared by the new Rapid Transit Commission, which had been created by thc Legislature in 1894 to take the jtlace of the former board, and which was headed by Alexander E. Orr, President of the New York Chamber of Commerce. Selection of a route was begun at once, but, after