New York Transit Museum: Ghost Station Tour
City Hall Station, an abandoned station of the New York Rapid Transit subway, originally the last stop at the southern end of the subway's interborough line. The station opened in 1904, and was designed to be the most impressive station of the city's new subway system.
City Hall Station remained. in use until 1945, when the station had to be closed due to certain changes in the city's subway system. As more and more passengers tarted to travel by subway, it became necessary to add more cars to subway trains. This meant that subway platforms needed to be extended to fit the longer trains. However, City Hall Station was originally built with a short, curved platform, making renovations to the station difficult. Rather than trying to rebuild it, officials chose to abandon City Hall Station in favor of another nearby station, the Brooklyn Bridge Station. Apart from being easier to renovate, the Brooklyn Bridge Station was also used by more passengers each day than City Hall station. In its final year, City Hall station was used by only six hundred passengers a day, a very small number for New York City. Thus, City Hall became a "ghost" station on the New York subway line, a modern underground ruin. Today, one subway line, the Number 6 train, still passes through City Hall Station on its way north, but the train does not stop.
In 1998, the New York Transit reopened City Hall station for tourists. Due to the historic significance and beauty of this station, the New York Transit Museum schedules special tours of the station several times each year. A few of the features guests will notice in this unique station include the arches and skyliight built above the platform, the colored glass tiles decorating the walls, and brass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The station has also been named as a landmark by the U.S. government.
Tour Information and Reservations. Please make reservations with the Transit Museum from Tuesday to Friday, 10 AM. to 4 PM. Payment in advance is required for tours and must be received at least one week before the scheduled tour. Payment can be made by credit card or check.
Tours may require a lot of walking. Wear good walking shoes and comfortable clothes. For your safety, follow the instructions of the tour guide when touring abandoned stations, stay with the group at all times, and otherwise follow instructions or signs at the facilities.
Photography is not permitted inside abandoned facilities.
Note: Tours of City Hall Station have been suspended as of 2001 due to increased security citywide in New York.