Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NYCS

The Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station is a local station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum, it is served by the 2 train at all times, the 3 train at all times except late nights, and the 4 train during late nights.

History

Construction and opening

After the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s original line opened as far as Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, the New York City government began planning new lines. As early as 1903, William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, had proposed constructing a four-track extension of the IRT line under Flatbush Avenue, running southeast from Atlantic Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. From there, two branches would have extended south to Flatbush and east to Brownsville. This plan did not progress for a decade due to various disputes over the original subway.<ref name="HAER Impact">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp In 1913, New York City, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), and the IRT reached an agreement, known as the Dual Contracts, to drastically expand subway service across New York City.<ref name="nyt-1913-03-20">Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the Dual Contracts, two lines under Flatbush Avenue, one each operated by the BRT and IRT, were approved.<ref name="Walker 1918">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="nyt-1913-03-20" /> The IRT was authorized to extend its four-track Brooklyn line under Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway,<ref name="nyt-1913-03-202">Template:Cite news</ref> while the BRT would construct a parallel two-track extension of the Brighton Line.<ref name="n125097279">Template:Cite news</ref>

Groundbreaking for the IRT extension took place on May 23, 1914.<ref name="nyt-1914-05-24">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n127730775">Template:Cite news</ref> The Institute Park station, as the Brooklyn Museum station was originally known, was to be one of the stations on the IRT extension.<ref name="n127730775" /> Before construction on Eastern Parkway even began, Brooklyn park commissioner Raymond Ingersoll recommended that the plans be modified to avoid damaging trees on Eastern Parkway.<ref name="n127732857">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n127732417">Template:Cite news</ref> As a result, plans for the line were changed in October 1914.<ref name="n127732939">Template:Cite news</ref> Under the revised plan, the four-track tunnel under Eastern Parkway was to be double-decked, except at the Franklin Avenue station, where all tracks would be on the same level.<ref name="n127731631">Template:Cite news</ref> In April 1915, nineteen companies submitted bids to construct the section of line between Grand Army Plaza and Nostrand Avenue, including the Institute Park, Franklin Avenue, and Nostrand Avenue stations. The low bidder for this contract was the Inter-Continental Company. which bid $2.7 million;<ref name="n127732139">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n127732108">Template:Cite news</ref> the contract was confirmed that May.<ref name="n127734082">Template:Cite news</ref>

The tunnel between Grand Army Plaza and Nostrand Avenue was built using the cut-and-cover method, with two steam shovels excavating an estimated Template:Convert.<ref name="n127733333">Template:Cite news</ref> Dirt from the excavation of the tunnel was used to infill the old Brighton Beach Race Course.<ref name="n127733271">Template:Cite news</ref> Just before the Institute Park station was to open, the IRT received a petition from Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to change the name of the station to "Brooklyn Museum" to provide an adequate guide for the station's location. As a result, an order was issued on March 3, 1920, changing the name of the station to "Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> New signs and tiles had to be installed while the station finish work was already underway.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Service on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line had been extended from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue in August 1920,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but the Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza, and Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum stations were not ready to open with the rest of the line.<ref name="EPkwy">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n127745371">Template:Cite news</ref> The contractor responsible for completing the three stations had gone bankrupt in the middle of the project.<ref name="n127745371" /> The stations opened on October 9, 1920.<ref name="EPkwy" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Later years

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Eastern Parkway, along with those at four other stations on the Eastern Parkway Line, were lengthened to 525 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 51-foot IRT cars.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="New York City Transit Authority 1964 p. "/> The work was performed by the Arthur A. Johnson Corporation.<ref name="New York City Transit Authority 1964 p. ">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1981, the MTA announced the creation of its Culture Stations program to install public art in the subway. The Culture Stations program was started to deter graffiti, and was inspired by legislation in the New York City Council that mandated that 1% of the cost of constructing public buildings be used for art. The program was modeled on the Louvre – Rivoli station on the Paris Métro, which featured reproductions of the artwork on display in the Louvre. Four stations, namely Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum, Astor Place, 66th Street–Lincoln Center, and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street, were selected for the program due to their proximity to cultural institutions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nyt-1982-08-09/> These would be among the first stations in the MTA's new station refurbishment program, which began in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations.<ref name=nyt-1982-08-09>Template:Cite news</ref> The Eastern Parkway and 66th Street stations had still not been renovated by 1986, even though the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street projects had been completed by then.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2002, it was announced that Eastern Parkway would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The station subsequently underwent a renovation that lasted between 13 and 15 months;<ref name="p305886535">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-2004-04-222">Template:Cite news</ref> the project was expedited in advance of the museum's anniversary.<ref name="p235762866">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The project, finished in April 2004, cost $12 million to $14 million to complete.<ref name="p305886535" /><ref name="nyt-2004-04-222" /> The Brooklyn Museum donated some architectural decorations,<ref name="p305880467">Template:Cite news</ref> which were installed within the station.<ref name="p305886535" /><ref name="nyt-2004-04-222" /> A new exit was also built, leading to the Brooklyn Museum's new main-entrance pavilion.<ref name="p305886535" />

As part of the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program, elevators were added to the platforms and street, which made the station fully compliant with accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A contract for the elevators' construction was awarded in August 2018. Substantial completion was projected for October 2020,<ref name="MTA-CPOC-Nov2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but the elevators opened two months later.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Designed by Urbahn Architects and constructed by Gramercy Group, the project cost $25.8 million and included three elevators and a rebuilt staircase.<ref name="Real Estate Weekly 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent Template:NYCS Platform Layout access
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:Stl) ← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Grand Army Plaza) ← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl late nights (Grand Army Plaza)
	Southbound local	Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:Stl) → Template:0 Template:Rint (Template:Rint late nights) toward Template:Stl (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College) →
	Side platform
Express Tracks	Northbound express	← Template:Rint Template:Rint do not stop here
Express Tracks	Southbound express	Template:0 Template:Rint Template:Rint do not stop here →

There are two local tracks with two side platforms.<ref name="tracks3">Template:NYCS const</ref> The express tracks pass underneath the station and are not visible from the platforms.<ref>Brooklyn IRT: Map 2, Brooklyn IRT Dual Contracts</ref> The 2 train stops here at all times,<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref> while the 3 train stops here at all times except late nights.<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref> The 4 train serves the station only during late nights.<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref> The next station to the north is Grand Army Plaza, while the next station to the south is Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College.<ref name="submap">Template:NYCS const</ref> Fixed platform barriers, which are intended to prevent commuters falling to the tracks, are positioned near the platform edges.<ref name=Wassef202507>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Russo-Lennon202507>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A large mosaic on the walls displays Eastern Parkway and Brooklyn Museum.

In the eastern mezzanine are architectural ornaments from the Brooklyn Museum collection, installed during the 2003 renovation of the station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The station contains 78 ornaments, which include cornices and statues salvaged from demolished buildings.<ref name="p305886535" /> The platforms and the eastern mezzanine formerly displayed abstract art paintings created in 1991 by artist Pat Steir, collectively called the Brueghel Series.<ref>Brooklyn IRT: Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum</ref>

There is an emergency exit from the express level at the south end of each platform. There is a closed western mezzanine blocked by a tiled wall and a door on the west ends of both platforms; the entrances to this mezzanine have been covered with metal hatches on street level.

Exits

The only two exits to this station are from the east mezzanine. One exit is on the south side of Eastern Parkway, in front of the Brooklyn Museum; the elevator is located by this entrance. The other is in the pedestrian mall on the north side of Eastern Parkway, across the street from the Brooklyn Museum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>