163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue station

The 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue station is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located in Washington Heights, Manhattan, at the intersection of Amsterdam and Saint Nicholas Avenues. It is served by the C train at all times except nights, when the A train takes over service.

History

The station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND)'s initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line between Chambers Street and 207th Street.<ref name="Chambers" /><ref name="Opening">Template:Cite news</ref> Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year. While the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided service to Washington Heights, the new Eighth Avenue subway via St. Nicholas Avenue provided an alternative route.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station underwent a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for several months. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A request for proposals for the 72nd Street, 86th Street, Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, and 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue stations was issued on June 1, 2017,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the New York City Transit and Bus Committee officially recommended that the MTA Board should award the $111 million contract to ECCO III Enterprises in October 2017.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> As part of the renovations, the station was closed on March 12, 2018<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and reopened on September 27, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Terminus) ← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl late nights (Template:Stl)
	Southbound local	Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:Stl) → Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl late nights (Template:Stl) →
	Side platform
Lower tracks<ref>Station Reporter — C Train Template:Webarchive</ref>	Northbound express	← Template:Rint does not stop here
	Southbound express	Template:0 Template:Rint does not stop here →

The 162nd Street entrance to the station

This underground station has two local tracks and two side platforms. Two express tracks, used by the A train during daytime hours, run below the station and are not visible from the platforms. To the north, the upper level local tracks become the center tracks of 168th Street, allowing C trains to terminate there, while the lower level express tracks become the outer tracks, continuing towards 207th Street.<ref name="tracks">Template:NYCS const</ref>

Both platforms have mosaic name tablets reading "163RD STREET - AMSTERDAM AVE." in white sans-serif lettering broken onto two lines. The background is yellow with a black border. Small black "163" and directional signs in white lettering run at regular intervals, but there is no trim line on either platform. Grey (previously yellow) I-beam columns run along both platforms, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering. The trim line was part of a color-coded tile system used throughout the IND.<ref name="nyt-1932-08-22">Template:Cite news</ref> The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan. As such, the yellow tiles used at the 163rd Street station were originally also used at Template:Stn, the next express station to the south, while a different tile color is used at Template:Stn, the next express station to the north. Yellow tiles are similarly used at the 155th Street station, the only other local station between 145th Street and 168th Street.<ref name="Carlson 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Gleason 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

This station has a full length mezzanine supported by I-beam columns above the platforms, but only the southern half is opened. The open southern half has three staircases from each platform, black I-beams, and two sets of turnstile banks leading to the center or the extreme south end of the mezzanine. The closed northern half is walled off and retained the original yellow-colored I-beams. The staircases from the platforms to this portion have been removed.

Prior to the station's renovation, the open southern half was split into three sections by two black steel fences, and free transfers between directions were not possible. Outside fare control, there is a token booth. The closed northern half was gated off and had an exit-only turnstile leading to the fare control area at the center, and three gated staircases from each platform.

The 2018 artwork at this station is Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us), a glass mosaic by Firelei Báez. The artwork consists of four pieces, two on the mezzanine and one on each platform. The mosaic contains leaves and vines, as well as symbolism that is evocative of Baez's Caribbean ancestry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Exits

Despite the station's name, there is no longer an open exit to 163rd Street. The closed northern half had three exits leading to 163rd Street.<ref name="MTA-ReviewAC-20152">Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="AMny-BMTJamaicaentrances-Oct2015">Template:Cite news</ref> By the late 1980s, the exits were closed and eventually sealed. Two of the exits went to the southwest corner,<ref name=":0" /> while the third exit, which was temporarily uncovered as an area to haul out debris from renovations, went to the southeast corner.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The open southern half of the mezzanine has three exits:

• One stair at the southeast corner of 161st Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
• One stair at the northeast corner of 161st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
• One stair built inside 1033 Saint Nicholas Avenue (at the western corner of 162nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue)<ref name=":0">Template:Cite NYC neighborhood map</ref>

External links

• Template:NYCS ref
• Station Reporter – C Train
• The Subway Nut – 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue Pictures Template:Webarchive
• 161st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 162nd Street / Amsterdam Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View (2016)
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (2018; Post-Rebuild)
• Mezzanine from Google Maps Street View (2018; Post-Rebuild)