Early history of the IRT subway
The first regularly operated line of the New York City Subway was opened on October 27, 1904, and was operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT). The early IRT system consisted of a single trunk line running south from 96th Street in Manhattan (running under Broadway, 42nd Street, Park Avenue, and Lafayette Street), with a southern branch to Brooklyn. North of 96th Street, the line had three northern branches in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The system had four tracks between Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall and 96th Street, allowing for local and express service. The original line and early extensions consisted of:
Planning for a rapid transit line in New York City started in 1894 with the enactment of the Rapid Transit Act. The plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. The city government started construction on the first IRT subway in 1900, leasing it to the IRT for operation under Contracts 1 and 2. After the initial line was opened, several modifications and extensions were made in the 1900s and 1910s.
The designs of the underground stations are inspired by those of the Paris Métro; with few exceptions, Parsons's team designed two types of stations for Contracts 1 and 2. Many stations were built just below or above street level, as Parsons wished to avoid using escalators and elevators as the primary means of access to the station. Heins & LaFarge designed elaborate decorative elements for the early system, which varied considerably between each station, and they were also responsible for each station's exits and entrances. Most tunnels used cut-and-cover construction, although deep-level tubes were used in parts of the system; elevated structures were used in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The lines used third rail power supplied by the IRT Powerhouse, as well as rolling stock made of steel or of steel–wood composite.
The city could only afford one subway line in 1900 and had hoped that the IRT would serve mainly to relieve overcrowding on the existing transit system, but the line was extremely popular, accommodating 1.2 million riders a day by 1914. Although the subway had little impact on retail in Lower and Midtown Manhattan, the completion of the IRT subway helped encourage other development, including residential growth in outlying areas and the relocation of Manhattan's Theater District. The Dual Contracts, signed in 1913, provided for the expansion of the subway system; as part of the Dual Contracts, a new H-shaped system was placed in service in 1918, splitting the original line into several segments. Most of the original IRT continues to operate as part of the New York City Subway, but several stations have been closed.
Service pattern[edit]
Initially, express service ran every two minutes, running at an average speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), with service alternating between the east and west branches. Express trains were eight cars long, with three trailer cars, and five motor cars. Local trains ran at an average speed of 16 miles per hour (26 km/h), and also alternated between the east and west branches. Service was provided with five-car trains, of which two cars were trailers, and three were motors.[4]
Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, while local trains typically began at South Ferry or City Hall, both in Manhattan. Local trains to the West Side Branch (242nd Street) ran from City Hall during rush hours and continued south at other times. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street). All three branches were initially served by express trains; no local trains used the East Side Branch to West Farms (180th Street).[60]
Beginning on June 18, 1906, Lenox Avenue express trains no longer ran to 145th Street; all Lenox Avenue express trains ran to the West Farms Line.[46]: 78 When the Brooklyn branch opened, all West Farms express trains and rush-hour Broadway express trains operated through to Brooklyn.[61] Essentially each branch had a local and an express, with express service to Broadway (242nd Street) and West Farms, and local service to Broadway and Lenox Avenue (145th Street).[62] In November 1906, some southbound express trains on the West Side branch began skipping the four stations between 137th and 96th Streets during rush hours;[63] however, Upper Manhattan residents reported that these express services did not save time and operated inconsistently.[64]
When the "H" system opened in 1918, all trains from the old system were sent south from Times Square–42nd Street along the new IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Local trains (Broadway and Lenox Avenue) were sent to South Ferry, while express trains (Broadway and West Farms) used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.[65] These services became 1 (Broadway express and local), 2 (West Farms express), and 3 (Lenox Avenue local) in 1948. The only major change to these patterns was made in 1959, when all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express.[66][67][68] The portion south of Grand Central–42nd Street became part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and now carries 4 (express), 5 (express), 6 (local), and <6> (local) trains; the short piece under 42nd Street is now the 42nd Street Shuttle.[65]
Impact[edit]
Ridership[edit]
The IRT was instantly popular upon its opening, with the New-York Tribune proclaiming the "birth of [the] subway crush".[53]: 146 However, within a week of its opening, the first subway line became overburdened by the sheer number of passengers using it.[83]: 46 The first line, designed to accommodate up to 600,000 passengers a day, was already accommodating half that amount by December 1904 and was nearing its capacity by the first anniversary of its opening. With subsequent expansions, the IRT's average daily traffic increased to 800,000 by 1908, and to 1.2 million by 1914. Consulting engineer Bion J. Arnold wrote in 1908 that "the number of patrons is increasing yearly and the maximum carrying capacity is therefore taxed to the utmost limit".[53]: 146–147 Express services were more popular than IRT planners had expected. At 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), the express trains were the fastest form of urban transportation in the city when they were not delayed, but they were frequently delayed because many passengers wished to transfer to and from local services.[53]: 151
The city could only afford one subway line in 1900 and had hoped that the IRT would serve mainly to relieve overcrowding on the existing transit system. However, crowds on existing transportation modes did not decrease significantly: elevated ridership in 1907 was one percent less than in 1904, while streetcar ridership declined four percent from 1904 to 1910.[53]: 146–147 A report in 1906, published by the New York State Railroad Commission, stated that Greater New York's growth was exceeding the development of its rapid transit.[103] In general, this could be attributed to huge growth in the years just prior to the subway's opening, with elevated ridership having increased by fifty percent from 1901 to 1904.[53]: 148 Between 1904 and 1914, the total number of passengers in New York City increased by more than 60 percent to 1.753 billion.[53]: 153 The technical modifications made in the late 1900s and early 1910s, including signaling system upgrades and platform extension, allowed the IRT to run a train on the express and local tracks once every 108 seconds, or 33 trains per hour.[53]: 168
City development[edit]
South of 42nd Street, the opening of the subway had little impact on retail. While high-end retailers and middle-class department stores were moving northward at the beginning of the 20th century, they chose to remain further west on Sixth and Fifth Avenues.[53]: 182 Union Square, and Fourth Avenue between 14th and 25th Streets (now Park Avenue South), was becoming a major wholesaling district with several loft and office buildings by 1909.[104][105] The subway had a more visible impact north of 42nd Street, where it switched from Manhattan's east side to its west side. Just north of 42nd Street and Broadway was Longacre Square, which saw an increase in development after the IRT subway was announced, including the new headquarters of The New York Times.[53]: 182 Longacre Square was renamed Times Square in 1904, after the Times, in part because the IRT subway station there necessitated a unique station name.[106] The subway's opening prompted the relocation of Manhattan's theater district to the stretch of Broadway surrounding Times Square.[53]: 183–184
In the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the opening of the subway resulted in residential development along Broadway, which in the late 19th century was unevenly developed with low-rise buildings. The presence of Central Park had previously limited the extent of development in the Upper West Side, since not many people from the more densely developed Upper East Side were willing to cross the park. The subway's opening brought about an increase in land values around it, as apartment buildings of over 10 stories and smaller business structures were erected on Broadway.[53]: 185–186 Further north, around the West Side Branch in Morningside Heights, developers started constructing middle-class apartment buildings when the subway opened.[107] Around the East Side Branch in central Harlem, commercial developments such as theaters and banks moved to Lenox Avenue, under which the subway ran.[53]: 190
When the IRT subway opened, the Bronx and the northern end of Manhattan were largely rural. Real estate speculators quickly bought up tracts around subway stations, subdivided the land into smaller lots, and sold these lots to small-scale builders. Tenement housing was the most prevalent type of development in these neighborhoods, as they were cheap to construct and many speculators intended to sell their land for profit. The tenements were almost exclusively developed within two blocks of the subway and were largely concentrated north of 130th Street.[53]: 195–196 The construction of tenement housing in these neighborhoods allowed greater mobility for lower-class residents of the Lower East Side and other neighborhoods. From 1900 to 1920, the population of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx increased at a greater rate than in the rest of the city. The development of tenements caused a change in reformers' views of the subway, and zoning regulations such as the 1916 Zoning Resolution were enacted to regulate haphazard development, such as that caused by the construction of subway lines.[53]: 200–201