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July 15, 1904 |
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THE
NORTHERNMOST station that opened on October 27, 1904, was 145
Street. The 157 Street station would open later the same year and the
stations through 215 Street would open two years later. As at 137
Street, we see a view of one of the entrance areas, again a little
more than three months before the opening of the subway; it appears
that even at this late date, there is still a considerable amount of
work left. The design of 145 Street is similar to the Broadway
stations immediately further downtown. Like those stations, its
platforms have been extended in at least one construction project
since they opened.
SEVERAL OF
THESE stations witnessed at least three phases of extension, by the
Public Service Commission not too long after the original route
opened, by the Board of Transportation, and later by the Transit
Authority. Those done by the first agency were in a similar style as
the original stations; the BOT extensions used wall treatments
borrowed from the style of the IND stations being built at the time,
and in general, the TA extensions did not match at all. However,
more recent Transit Authority station decoration work has shown great
success in harmonizing new materials and designs with the old wall
designs. It is important to respect the idea that a subway station is
more than a place simply to catch a train. It is a space shared by
perhaps thousands of people each day, whose appearance says something
about the way we view our city, and to what we and our great city can
aspire.