Barclay Street

About: Old City Hall Subway Station

City Hall Station was the first NYC subway station to open to the public in 1904, as part of the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) system, and was designed by architects George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge (who constructed the Cathedral of St. John the Divine). Rafael Guastavino (of Guastavino arch fame); and Gutzon Borglum (the sculptor who worked on Mount Rushmore), also worked on the station, which boasted spectacular arches, skylights, and even chandeliers. Service at the station was discontinued in 1945 when it was deemed impractical for lengthening by the IRT and abandoned in favour of the nearby Brooklyn Bridge Station. Today, the New York Transit Museum offers tours of the station for its members, or you can watch a glimpse for free if you stay on the downtown 6 as it switches from the downtown to the uptown track.

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