157th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

157th Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
242nd Street-bound platform looking south
Station statistics
Address	West 157th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10032
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Washington Heights
Coordinates	40°50′02″N 73°56′38″W / 40.834°N 73.944°W / 40.834; -73.944Coordinates: 40°50′02″N 73°56′38″W / 40.834°N 73.944°W / 40.834; -73.944
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M4, M5, Bx6
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	November 12, 1904 (112 years ago) (1904-11-12)
Wireless service
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	3,516,545  1%
Rank	145 out of 425
Station succession
Next north	168th Street: 1
Next south	145th Street (local): 1  96th Street (express): no regular service
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US

157th Street is a station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Broadway and 157th Street in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, it is served by the 1 train at all times.

157th Street first opened, informally and incomplete, on October 29, 1904, as a temporary service to accommodate fans heading to the Yale–Columbia game.

157th Street was formally opened on November 12, 1904. This station was the first to be added to the subway following its opening the previous October 27. The station's opening was delayed by two weeks because there was still painting and plastering work going on in the station.

145th Street, the next station south, was the original terminal. On its first day in service, the station was used to allow passengers to get to a football game at the Polo Grounds. After this, 157th Street became the terminal for trains not going via the Lenox Avenue Line. The terminal of 157th Street had facilities for switching trains, relieving congestion at 96th Street. On March 12, 1906, the IRT was extended from 157th Street to 221st Street. Shuttle trains served the new extension terminating at 157th Street, meaning that passengers south of 157th Street wanting to go to stations on the extension had to transfer at 157th Street. On May 30, 1906, express trains began running through to 221st Street eliminating the need to transfer at this station.

In 1948, platforms on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from 103rd Street to 238th Street were lengthened to 514 feet to allow full ten-car express trains to platform. Previously the stations could only platform six car local trains. The platform extensions were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the stations from 103rd Street to Dyckman Street had their platform extensions opened, with the exception of the 125th Street, which had its opened on June 11, 1948.