July 15, 1904

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.