• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Stories
  • Games
    • View All
    • FAQ
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

Abandoned: The Fading Splendor Of New York’s Old City Hall Subway Station

February 5, 2018 by Lucia

Previously: Dogpatch USA.

You’d never know it just looking at it, but the New York City subway system is full of secrets. Those tiny ledges jutting out from walls? They’re often indicative of old platforms that have been walled up. Those hatches in the ground on upper level platforms? Sometimes they lead to lower platforms which are no longer used. The bricked-up doorway at one exit of the Times Square station with the word “KNICKERBOCKER” written above it? It’s a disused entrance that once led directly into the no-longer-operational Knickerbocker Hotel. But of all the secrets the abandoned sections of the New York subway hold, the crown jewel is — without a doubt — the old City Hall subway station.

The platform at the abandoned City Hall subway station in New York
juliandunn/Flickr

These days, the subway is owned by the City of New York and leased to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. When it first began, though, the subway was actually privately owned and operated — and what’s more, more than one company was at work down there in the tunnels. First opened in 1904, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, known as IRT, operated what are now the numbered trains; meanwhile, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, known as BMT, took over what had been the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company in 1923 and operated what are now the lettered trains. If you ride the subway regularly, you’ll notice that even now, the lettered trains are much wider than the numbered trains are; that’s because, in order to compete with each other, the companies emphasized different strengths: The narrower IRT trains were built for speed, while the wider BMT trains were built for luxury and comfort. Both companies were bought by the city in 1940.

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

The terminal station of the very first New York subway line — an IRT line now known as the Lexington Avenue line, on which the 4, 5, and 6 trains run — was located directly underneath City Hall… and it was spectacular. Romanesque Revival architecture, vaulted ceilings, beautiful skylights, colored glass tilework, and brass chandeliers made the Rafael Guastavino-designed station a gem of the city. Construction began on it in 1900, with the station finally opening its doors on Oct. 27, 1904; some 1,500 tickets were sold for it that first day.

Interestingly, though, the City Hall Loop wasn’t what one might consider an important station. It served less than 1,000 passengers a day, and it wasn’t open at night; what’s more, its sharp turns and shorter platform proved to be something of a problem when trains began to get longer just a few years after the station’s original opening. Additionally, the Brooklyn Bridge stop, which opened in 1914, was so close by as to make the City Hall station redundant. So, the decision was eventually made to close it: Its last day of service was Dec. 31, 1945.

It sat neglected for decades, the dust gathering around it and its finery drifting to tatters. In the mid-‘90s, the New York Transit Museum began making plans to reopen it as another branch of the museum; however, amid growing safety and security concerns, the plans were abandoned in 1998. One of the entrances was restored in the mid-2000s, though, and these days, the Transit Museum occasionally offers excursions into the station for museum members.

You don’t have to wait for one of those rare and much-in-demand tours to see the City Hall station, though. It still functions as the loop for the 6 trains — so if you ignore the announcement that notes the Brooklyn Bridge stop is the last stop on the train and stay onboard, you can see the City Hall station through the window as the train loops around.

The City Hall station isn’t the only disused piece of the subway you can see if you look in the right places at the right times while riding the rails, by the way. Try glancing out the window of the Q train just before it leaves Brooklyn; you’ll see an optical illusion art installation in the old Myrtle Street station.  Or, take a look out of the windows at the front of the 4, 5, and 6 trains between Brooklyn Bridge and Canal to spot the Worth Street station.

And wherever you go, keep your eyes open. You never know what you might find.

  • woofiegrrl/Flickr
  • Wikimedia Commons
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • Wikimedia Commons
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • Wikimedia Commons
  • juliandunn/Flickr
  • brettday/Flickr
  • Wikimedia Commons
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • woofiegrrl/Flickr
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • bkabak/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr
  • Salim Virji/Flickr

***

Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!

[Photos available via CC BY-ND 2.0, CC BY-SA 2.0, and CC BY 2.0 Creative Commons licenses; for credits and source links, see captions of each individual photo.]

Filed Under: Places Tagged With: Abandoned, abandoned places, abandoned subway, city hall subway station, New York, photography, subway, urban exploration

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ollie says

    March 18, 2018 at 7:13 am

    I tried it out, and I got a tiny glimpse of a station… I think I saw it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Top Stories

‘Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark’ Is Now Available From Chronicle Books!

15 Creepy Phone Numbers To Call That Actually Work (UPDATED For 2023)

The Backrooms, Explained: How To Make Sense Of The Internet’s Favorite Non-Reality

About

The Ghost In My Machine is an internet campfire of sorts. Gather round, because it wants to tell you strange stories, take you on haunted journeys, and make you jump at unexpected noises.

Continue Reading >

Support

Like what you read? Support The Ghost In My Machine!

 

Support

Follow

Facebook Twitter

From the Vault

  • Bloody Mary & Other Games We Shouldn’t Play

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • This Man

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Dionaea House

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Noise Coming From Inside Children

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • NoEnd House

    Is It Real?

  • Killswitch

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • Suicidemouse.avi

    Is It Real?

  • 200 Phenomena In The City Of Calgary

    Scare Yourself Silly

View All >

Letters from the Beyond

Enter your email to receive blog posts and updates by email

  • Stories
  • Games
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

Privacy Policy

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT