Bowling Green station

The Bowling Green station is a station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at Broadway and Battery Place (at Bowling Green), in the Financial District of Manhattan. It is served by the 4 train at all times and the 5 train at all times except late nights. It is the southern terminal for the 5 train on weekends.

The station opened in 1905 as an extension of the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT)'s original subway line to South Ferry. At the time, there was a single island platform with one exit at Battery Park and another in Bowling Green. When the Lexington Avenue Line was expanded to Brooklyn in 1908, some trains continued going to South Ferry, resulting in the creation of a short island platform at the Bowling Green station for the Bowling Green–South Ferry shuttle. The shuttle operated until 1977. During the 1970s, the station was completely renovated, a new exit was built, and a third, side platform was created for northbound trains.

The Bowling Green station contains two island platforms and one side platform. The westernmost island platform, formerly used by the shuttle, has been closed since 1977. The station retains its original head house in Battery Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a New York City designated landmark. There are two other exits to Bowling Green, one of which contains an elevator that makes the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

History

Construction and opening

Template:Stack Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.<ref name="Walker 1918" />Template:Rp However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.<ref name="Walker 1918">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer.<ref name="NYCL-1096">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,<ref name="Report December 31, 1904">Template:Cite book</ref> in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.<ref name="Walker 1918" />Template:Rp In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.<ref name="NYCL-1096" />Template:Rp Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.<ref name="Walker 1918" />Template:Rp

Several days after Contract 1 was signed, the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners instructed Parsons to evaluate the feasibility of extending the subway south to South Ferry, and then to Brooklyn. On January 24, 1901, the Board adopted a route that would extend the subway from City Hall to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Flatbush Avenue terminal station (now known as Atlantic Terminal) in Brooklyn, via the Joralemon Street Tunnel under the East River.<ref name="Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners 1902">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="HAER CE">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp Contract 2, which gave the IRT a 35-year lease, was executed between the commission and the Rapid Transit Construction Company on September 11, 1902.<ref name="Walker 1918" />Template:Rp Construction of the Joralemon Street Tunnel began at State Street in Manhattan on November 8, 1902.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There was to be a station at Bowling Green. South of the station, the main line would slope down to the Joralemon Street Tunnel, while a loop underneath Battery Park would allow southbound trains to serve the South Ferry station and rejoin the northbound track.<ref name="nyt-1904-02-14">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p128366357">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The New York Times wrote that the installation of the switches between the loop and the main line presented "an engineering problem of great difficulty".<ref name="nyt-1904-02-14" />

Work on the section of line from Ann Street (just south of City Hall) to Bowling Green had not started by September 1903, and McDonald blamed Parsons for the delays.<ref name="p571385948">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1903-09-18">Template:Cite news</ref> The dispute was quickly resolved, as neither man had realized that the other did not want the project to disturb daytime traffic along Broadway; work started shortly thereafter.<ref name="nyt-1903-09-19">Template:Cite news</ref> During the Bowling Green station's construction, workers uncovered and removed some of the original lampposts that had illuminated Bowling Green Park.<ref name="p1242870842">Template:Cite news</ref> The tunnel between Ann Street and Bowling Green was nearly complete by July 1904.<ref name="p571576332">Template:Cite news</ref> The Bowling Green station opened on July 10, 1905.<ref name="The New York Times 1905" /><ref name="p571684437">Template:Cite news</ref> The station was originally built with a single island platform; a station head house at the south end, in Battery Park; and a secondary entrance at the northern end of the platform, adjacent to Bowling Green Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There was as yet no IRT service to Brooklyn, and all Lexington Avenue trains terminated at South Ferry's outer-loop platform.<ref name="The New York Times 1905">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p571684437" />

Early modifications

Template:Stack After the Joralemon Street Tunnel opened in 1908,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> ticket sales increased at Bowling Green and the IRT's other subway stations in Lower Manhattan.<ref name="p572094994">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1909-01-25">Template:Cite news</ref> Some trains continued to terminate at South Ferry, even during rush hours, while others went to Brooklyn. This service pattern was soon found to be inadequate for the high volume of Brooklyn riders.<ref name="J.B. Lyon Company, printers 1908" /> As a result, in 1908, the New York State Public Service Commission applied for authority to build a second, shorter platform and a third track to the west of the existing island platform.<ref name="J.B. Lyon Company, printers 1908">Template:Cite book</ref> Three months after the Joralemon Street Tunnel opened, construction began on the third track and the western island platform at Bowling Green. Once they were completed in 1909, all rush-hour trains were sent to Brooklyn, with a two-car Bowling Green–South Ferry shuttle train providing service to South Ferry during those times.<ref name="p572193618">Template:Cite news</ref> Even after the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line local service (Template:NYCS trains) began to South Ferry in 1918, the shuttle remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1977 due to budget cuts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.<ref name="HAER Impact">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.<ref name="Report 1911">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The main island platform at the Bowling Green station was extended Template:Convert to the north.<ref name="Report 1911" />Template:Rp On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the East Side Line, and the next day, ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line.<ref name="HAER Impact" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Lexington Avenue Line north of Grand Central–42nd Street opened on August 1, 1918, and all Joralemon Street Tunnel services were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n125572944">Template:Cite news</ref>

In Fiscal Year 1937, the platform was extended Template:Convert to the north. This avoided the need to install gap fillers on the curve at the south end of the platform.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1248134780">Template:Cite news</ref> On September 8, 1952, the New York City Board of Transportation made the entrance kiosk at Battery Place and State Street entrance-only instead of exit-only in order to relieve congestion at the station during the evening rush hour. A fare box was installed at the top of the stairway to accommodate the change.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights above the edges of the station's platforms.<ref name="nyt-1956-01-27">Template:Cite news</ref> The lights were installed the next year.<ref name="nyt-1957-04-22">Template:Cite news</ref>

NYCTA architect Harold Sandifer prepared plans in the late 1950s for a modern-style station house within Bowling Green Park, which would contain a brick-and-aluminum facade, along with planters containing dwarf Japanese yew trees. The NYCTA approved the project in February 1958, awarding the construction contract to the Lenmar Construction Company at a cost of $87,200.<ref name="nyt-1958-02-12">Template:Cite news</ref> The next year, the new station house in Bowling Green Park was completed, with new stairways to the platform. Later in 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central, 86th Street and 125th Street to Template:Convert to accommodate ten-car trains.<ref name="New York City Transit Authority 1959">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Annual Report 1960">Template:Cite book</ref> The NYCTA approved a proposal in September 1960 to install an experimental token-vending machine, which would dispense advertisements along with tokens, at the Bowling Green station.<ref name="p1324119938">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1960-09-14">Template:Cite news</ref> Work on the platform extension was still underway in 1962,<ref name="nyt-1962-02-18">Template:Cite news</ref> and the project was substantially completed by November 1965.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1970s renovation

The orange tiles on the walls date to the 1970s renovation.

As early as the mid-1960s, local civic group Downtown-Local Manhattan Association had raised concerns that the Bowling Green station was severely overcrowded during rush hours. The association commissioned a study of the neighborhood, which recommended that the station's platform be extended and that its entrances be widened.<ref name="nyt-1966-08-28">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1970, the New York City Planning Commission considered transferring the Custom House's unused air rights to 1 Broadway, where the Walter Kidde Company planned to build a 50-story skyscraper. In exchange, the Walter Kidde Company would have been required to pay for numerous improvements to the surrounding area.<ref name=nyt-1970-04-09>Template:Cite news</ref> Local civic groups also proposed connecting the station to the basements of skyscrapers in the area, as well as to the then-separate South Ferry and Whitehall Street stations and a planned terminal for the Second Avenue Subway.<ref name="nyt-1973-06-09">Template:Cite news</ref> By the early 1970s, the station had 14 million passengers per year.<ref name="nyt-1972-03-06">Template:Cite news</ref>

On March 5, 1972, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that the station would be renovated and expanded, doubling the capacity of the station.<ref name="n26223034">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="McFadden 1972">Template:Cite news</ref> The work was done in conjunction with the renovation of Bowling Green Park, which was rebuilt to conform with its appearance in the late 18th century.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A new northbound side platform was built to alleviate congestion on the narrow island platform, which would then only be used by downtown trains.<ref name="Dembart 1977">Template:Cite news</ref> Stairs and a new mezzanine were built below track level, and a new exit with modern escalators was installed just south of Bowling Green.<ref name="Dembart 1977" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The street at the southern end of Bowling Green, in front of the Custom House, was converted into a pedestrian plaza.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new mezzanine, excavated under Bowling Green Park using a cut-and-cover method, was connected to the platform and street levels with ten new escalators.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The existing subway entrance at the west gate of the park was removed, providing more open space in the park.<ref name="n26223034" /><ref name="McFadden 1972" /> These capacity improvements were made to accommodate increased ridership resulting from the construction of additional office buildings in Lower Manhattan, including the World Trade Center.<ref name="McFadden 1972" /> The station lost its original mosaic tiles,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which were replaced with bright red tiles, similar to those at 49th Street and the under-construction stations on the 63rd Street lines and Archer Avenue lines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the station's token booths were renovated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Work was initially set to be finished in 1974.<ref name="McFadden 1972" /> In July 1975, it was announced that the project's completion had been delayed to March 1976.<ref name="The New York Times 1975">Template:Cite news</ref> In December 1976, a spokesperson for the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) said that work on the project would not be completed until early 1977.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The southern headhouse entrance was closed for six months beginning in April 1978 as it was being rehabilitated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The renovation was completed in 1978 at a cost of $16.8 million.<ref name="The New York Times 1975" /> Funding for the project was provided from the NYCTA's capital budget.<ref name="McFadden 1972" /> The Bowling Green station's renovation was supposed to be the first of numerous large-scale station reconstructions in the New York City Subway system.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n100090034">Template:Cite news</ref>

At midnight on February 13, 1977, service on the Bowling Green–South Ferry shuttle was discontinued, and the platform and the track used by the shuttle were abandoned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The service was discontinued as part of a three-phase cut in service that the NYCTA had begun in 1975 to reduce its operating deficits.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite the discontinuation of the service, the shuttle platform was renovated, receiving new tiling, signage, and refinished flooring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Pirmann 2000">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some time after 1983, a fence was installed on the eastern edge of the island platform, which had been used to board trains prior to the opening of the side platform in 1978.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Subsequent changes

In June 1999, MetroCard vending machines were installed in this station as part of the second batch of the fare-payment technology's installation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, members of the public expressed concerns that the station could be difficult to evacuate in emergencies due to its convoluted layout.<ref name="p279815759">Template:Cite news</ref>

In early 2006, work began to make the station fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The cobblestones around the station entrance near Bowling Green were replaced with granite pavers, an ADA-compliant path was constructed to Bowling Green Park, and a new glass canopy was installed over this entrance. The canopy, which was designed by Dattner Architects in 2003, consists of a curved steel and glass with stainless steel ribs, and is supported by a granite base.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The unused shuttle platform was also walled off between 2001 and 2002.<ref name="Pirmann 2000" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Brennan 2002">Template:Cite web</ref> Work to install the canopy was scheduled to begin in late October 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2007, the replacement of the cobblestones and installation of the glass canopy were completed. The elevators opened to the public on July 9, 2007, and a formal opening ceremony was hosted the following day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The MTA added a hearing induction loop for passengers on the northbound platform, the first such installation in the subway system, during a pilot program in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The MTA announced in December 2021 that it would install wide-aisle fare gates for disabled passengers at five subway stations, including Bowling Green, by mid-2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The implementation of these fare gates was delayed; none of the wide-aisle fare gates had been installed by early 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The MTA announced in 2024 that it would replace the station's existing waist-high turnstiles with taller, wide-aisle turnstiles.<ref name="Brachfeld 2024 y467">Template:Cite web</ref> According to a study conducted by New York University researchers and published in 2024, the Bowling Green station had some of the highest particulate matter pollution levels of any subway station in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance Template:NYCS Platform Layout access
Platform level	Template:Small
	Northbound	← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:Stl) ← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl or Template:Stl (Wall Street)
	Template:Small
	Southbound	Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:Stl late nights) (Template:Stl) → Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl weekdays (Borough Hall) → Template:0 Template:Rint mid-weekday evening/weekend termination track (no service: Template:Stl) →
	Island platform, not in service
	Shuttle	Template:0 No passenger service (Next stop: South Ferry)
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent

View of the southbound and abandoned shuttle platforms from the northbound platform

The station, located at Broadway and Battery Place,<ref name="Bowling Green Map">Template:Cite web</ref> is served by the 4 train at all times<ref name=tt4>Template:NYCS const</ref> and by the 5 train at all times except late nights.<ref name=tt5>Template:NYCS const</ref> The station is between Template:Stl to the north and Template:Stl in Brooklyn to the south; it is the southern terminus for the Template:NYCS trains during weekends and mid-weekday evenings.<ref name=submap>Template:NYCS const</ref> The Bowling Green station has three tracks and three platforms, of which two tracks and two platforms are in service. The center island platform serves southbound and terminating trains, and a slightly offset side platform to the east serves northbound trains.<ref name="tracks">Template:NYCS const</ref> A fence is located along the eastern edge of the island platform, preventing northbound trains from releasing passengers onto the island platform.<ref name="Cox 2010">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The side platform and the wall facing the downtown track have orange brick tiles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both platforms have circular platform columns painted in beige.<ref name="Cox 2010" /> The platforms also have cooling fans.<ref name="MTA 2023 b859">Template:Cite web</ref>

An abandoned and walled-off island platform and track on the west side of the station were formerly used by the Bowling Green–South Ferry shuttle, which traveled to the inner platform at South Ferry.<ref name="tracks" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This platform was connected to the island platform with an underpass at its northern end.<ref name="Brennan 2002" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Escalators and stairs connect both platforms to the mezzanine below track level, where free transfers can be made between the two platforms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the uptown platform, pairs of escalators and staircases lead to the mezzanine,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while on the downtown platform, alternating staircases and escalators descend to the mezzanine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bowling Green station is fully wheelchair-accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and contains two elevators. One connects street level, the main northbound fare control, and the southbound fare control area below the platforms and tracks. The other connects the Brooklyn-bound platform with the fare control area below the tracks.<ref name="MTA Accessible Stations">Template:Cite web</ref>

There are two banks of turnstiles on the north and south sides of the mezzanine, which is outside fare control.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A pair of escalators and a staircase leads from the eastern end of the mezzanine to an upper mezzanine,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which contains the token booth, and a bank of turnstiles, which leads directly onto the uptown side platform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Track layout

South of the station, the tracks diverge into two sets. One set (the inner tracks) enters the Joralemon Street Tunnel to travel to Brooklyn,<ref name="tracks" /> sloping down at a gradient of just over three percent.<ref name="nyt-1904-02-14" /><ref name="p128366357" /> This route is used by the 4 train at all times and the 5 train on weekdays until 8:45 pm.<ref name="serviceguide">Template:NYCS const</ref> The outer tracks continue to the closed South Ferry inner loop station,<ref name="tracks" /> which is used by the 5 train when it short turns at this station during weekends and mid-weekday evenings.<ref name="serviceguide" />

Exits

Station entrance in Bowling Green, in front of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

The station has three street stairs, an elevator, a set of escalators, and an original control house (also known as the head house). These exits are clustered in three separate locations.<ref name="Bowling Green Map"/><ref name="MTA-LowerManhattan-2014">Template:Cite NYCS map</ref>

The eastern end of the upper mezzanine, toward the center of the station, leads to a pair of staircases and an up escalator that leads to Bowling Green plaza.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is a glass-canopied stairs-and-escalator entrance in front of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, just around the corner from two entrances to the Whitehall Street–South Ferry station on the BMT Broadway Line (which are set into the building's eastern elevation).<ref name="Bowling Green Map"/><ref name="MTA-LowerManhattan-2014" />

At the eastern end of the lower mezzanine, a pair of escalators and a staircase lead to an intermediate level.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This, in turn, leads to a pair of staircases on the north side of Battery Place between Greenwich Street and Broadway, outside 1 Broadway.<ref name="Bowling Green Map"/><ref name="MTA-LowerManhattan-2014" />

A staircase, at the southern end of the island platform, leads to a fare control area in the restored control house.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which consists of a pair of low turnstiles at the south end,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and two high entry/exit turnstiles flanking the staircase down to the platform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Control house

At the south end of the station is the original head house, known as the Bowling Green IRT Control House or Battery Park Control House, on the west side of State Street south of Broadway.<ref name="Bowling Green Map"/> This subway entrance was designed by Heins & LaFarge and built in 1905 on the west side of State Street, across from the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was built as one of several station houses on the original IRT; similar station houses were built at 72nd, 96th, 103rd, and 116th Streets.<ref name="NY1900">Template:Cite New York 1900</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="NYCL-1021">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp The control house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City designated landmark.<ref name="NYCL-0829">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nris" /> Although most of the original subway's entry points had steel and glass kiosks (such as at Astor Place), important stations like Bowling Green were marked with a brick and stone control house, so called because they helped control the passenger flow.<ref name="NYCL-0829" />

The facade is made of yellow brick, with limestone banding and triglyphs at its tops, a base of granite, and a gable roof. The doorways to the control house are located on the north and south of the structure; the northern doorway has an elaborate pediment above it, and the southern doorway has been extended with three exit doors. Inside, the control house has turnstiles at street level and a single stair down to the extreme southern end of the island platform.<ref name="NYCL-0829" /><ref name=nrhpdoc>Template:Cite report (Template:NationalArchivesNote)</ref>

Artwork

The Bowling Green station has lightboxes with rotating content. Since 2018, the exhibition has been "Daily Voyage", featuring pictures taken by Glen DiCrocco of regular commuters on the Staten Island Ferry. Some of these photos can be seen on the MTA's Flickr account as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nearby points of interest

There are numerous skyscrapers and other structures immediately surrounding the Bowling Green station (listed clockwise):

• Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House to the south; a New York City designated landmark on the National Register of Historic Places<ref name=aia5>Template:Cite aia5</ref>Template:Rp
• 1 Broadway, the International Mercantile Marine Company Building; a New York City designated landmark on the National Register of Historic Places<ref name=aia5/>Template:Rp
• Bowling Green Offices Building, 11 Broadway; a New York City designated landmark<ref name=aia5/>Template:Rp
• Cunard Building, 25 Broadway; a New York City designated landmark<ref name=aia5/>Template:Rp
• 26 Broadway, the Standard Oil Company Building, on the east side of Broadway, facing the Cunard Building; a New York City designated landmark<ref name=aia5/>Template:Rp
• 2 Broadway, a Modernist glass structure<ref name=aia5/>Template:Rp that replaced the New York Produce Exchange Building<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Another park, the Battery, is located right outside the southern entrance.<ref name="MTA-LowerManhattan-2014"/> Charging Bull, a Template:Convert bronze sculpture, is at the north end of Bowling Green Park,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> immediately north of the station.<ref name="MTA-LowerManhattan-2014"/>

External links

• Template:NYCsubway ref
• nycsubway.org – The Essence of Time Artwork by Nicole Bengiveno (2007)
• nycsubway.org – A Way To Go Artwork by Zach DeSart (2009)
• Station Reporter – 4 Train
• Station Reporter – 5 Train
• Abandoned Stations – Bowling Green & South Ferry platforms