Fifth Avenue–59th Street station

The New York Public Service Commission adopted plans for what was known as the Broadway–Lexington Avenue route on December 31, 1907. This route began at the Battery and ran under Greenwich Street, Vesey Street, Broadway to Ninth Street, private property to Irving Place, and Irving Place and Lexington Avenue to the Harlem River. After crossing under the Harlem River into the Bronx, the route split at Park Avenue and 138th Street, with one branch continuing north to and along Jerome Avenue to Woodlawn Cemetery, and the other heading east and northeast along 138th Street, Southern Boulevard, and Westchester Avenue to Pelham Bay Park. In early 1908, the Tri-borough plan was formed, combining this route, the under-construction Centre Street Loop Subway in Manhattan and Fourth Avenue Subway in Brooklyn, a Canal Street subway from the Fourth Avenue Subway via the Manhattan Bridge to the Hudson River, and several other lines in Brooklyn.James Blaine Walker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lpEgAAAAMAAJ Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864–1917], published 1918, pp. 207-223Engineering News, [http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/triboro.html A New Subway Line for New York City] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705042944/http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/triboro.html|date=July 5, 2012}}, Volume 63, No. 10, March 10, 1910

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company submitted a proposal to the Commission, dated March 2, 1911, to operate the Tri-borough system (but under Church Street instead of Greenwich Street), as well as a branch along Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 59th Street from Ninth Street north and east to the Queensboro Bridge; the Canal Street subway was to merge with the Broadway Line instead of continuing to the Hudson River. The city, the BRT, and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (which operated the first subway and four elevated lines in Manhattan) came to an agreement, and sent a report to the New York City Board of Estimate on June 5, 1911. The line along Broadway to 59th Street was assigned to the BRT, while the IRT obtained the Lexington Avenue line, connecting with its existing route at Grand Central–42nd Street. Construction began on Lexington Avenue on July 31, and on Broadway the next year. The Dual Contracts, two operating contracts between the city and the BMT and IRT, were adopted on March 4, 1913.James Blaine Walker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lpEgAAAAMAAJ Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864–1917], published 1918, pp. 224-241

The original plan there was to build a pair of single-track tunnels under 59th and 60th Streets, rising onto the Queensboro Bridge and crossing the East River to Queens, with stations at Fifth and Lexington Avenues.{{Cite news |date=1914-06-28 |title=Reply to M'Adoo on Subway Route; Washington Conference Tomorrow May Settle Differences on Post Office Rights. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/06/28/archives/reply-to-madoo-on-subway-route-washington-conference-tomorrow-may.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=1914-06-27 |title=Public Hearing on Subway Contracts |pages=1 |work=The Standard Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union/124201608/ |access-date=2023-05-30}} In July 1914, the Public Service Commission opened bids for the construction of the two tunnels. The Degnon Contracting Company submitted the lowest of five bids for the project at just over $2.8 million.{{Cite news |date=1914-07-25 |title=Subway Bids Opened; Five Offers to Construct B.R.T. Line Under Fifty-ninth Street. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/07/25/archives/subway-bids-opened-five-offers-to-construct-brt-line-under.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |issn=0362-4331}} Degnon received the contract and began constructing the tunnels that September.{{Cite news |date=1914-11-28 |title=Subway Progress |pages=22 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-subway-progress/124743583/ |access-date=2023-05-30}} In 1915, the Public Service Commission approved a request from the New York City Board of Estimate to place both tracks under 60th Street and cross the East River in the 60th Street Tunnel.{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1915 |title=Adopts Tunnel To Queens.; Service Board Approves Change in New Subway Route. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/07/29/archives/adopts-tunnel-to-queens-service-board-approves-change-in-new-subway.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504023037/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/07/29/archives/adopts-tunnel-to-queens-service-board-approves-change-in-new-subway.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |date=1915-07-28 |title=P. S. Board Approves Tunnel to Queens |pages=3 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-p-s-board-app/125571941/ |access-date=2023-05-30}}

A. W. King received a $126,000 contract in December 1918 to install finishes at the Lexington Avenue and Fifth Avenue stations on the Broadway Line.{{Cite news |date=1918-12-01 |title=Contract to Finish Stations. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/12/01/archives/contract-to-finish-stations.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |issn=0362-4331}} The station opened on September 1, 1919, as part of an extension of the Broadway Line from 57th Street–Seventh Avenue to Lexington Avenue/59th Street.{{Cite news |date=August 31, 1919 |title=Subway To Open Two New Stations; Broadway Line of B.R.T. Will Extend to Lexington Av. and 60th St. Tomorrow. An Entrance at Fifth Av. Central Manhattan to Have Direct Service to All Brooklyn and Coney Island. Express to Times Square. Tunnel to Queens tow Under Way and Expected to be in Use in Six Months. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/08/31/archives/subway-to-open-two-new-stations-broadway-line-of-brt-will-extend-to.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021354/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/08/31/archives/subway-to-open-two-new-stations-broadway-line-of-brt-will-extend-to.html |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=31 Aug 1919 |title=B. R. T. Subway to Reach Lexington Ave. To-morrow: Station To Be Opened at 60th St. Under Present Station of Interborough's East Side Underground |page=10 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|576078090}}}} Service originally operated northward to Lexington Avenue and southward to Whitehall Street at the southern end of Manhattan. Service to Queens began when the 60th Street Tunnel opened on August 1, 1920.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1920 |title=New B.R.T. Lines Open.; Broadway-Brighton Trains, on Holiday Schedule, Have Light Traffic |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/08/02/102879419.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=November 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504023037/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/08/02/102879419.pdf |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news |date=August 1, 1920 |title=Broadway-Fifty-Ninth Street Extension of B.R.T. Subway |page=92 |work=The New York Times |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB081EF63A5511738DDDA80894D0405B808EF1D |url-status=live |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504023056/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB081EF63A5511738DDDA80894D0405B808EF1D&legacy=true&status=nf |archive-date=May 4, 2022}}

The station was operated by the BMT until the city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940.{{Cite news|date=1940-06-02|title=B.M.T. Lines Pass to City Ownership; $175,000,000 Deal Completed at City Hall Ceremony-- Mayor 'Motorman No. 1'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/02/archives/bmt-lines-pass-to-city-ownership-175000000-deal-completed-at-city.html|access-date=2022-05-14|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719094900/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/02/archives/bmt-lines-pass-to-city-ownership-175000000-deal-completed-at-city.html|archive-date=July 19, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=June 2, 1940 |title=City Takes Over B. M. T. System; Mayor Skippers Midnight Train |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1243059209}}}} This station was overhauled in the late 1970s. The MTA fixed the station's structure and overall appearance, replacing the original wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting with 1970s modern-look wall tile band and tablet mosaics, signs and fluorescent lights. It also fixed staircases and platform edges.

In 2002, the station received a major overhaul. It received state-of-art repairs as well as an upgrade of the station for ADA compliance and restoration the original late 1910s tiling. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiling for the walls, installed new tiling on the floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, and installed ADA yellow safety threads along the platform edges, new signs, and new track-beds in both directions.

File:Fifth Av BMT 59 tile jeh.JPG

File:5th Avenue BMT 9317.JPG

This underground station has two tracks and two side platforms, with a mezzanine above both the western and eastern ends of the station. The station is served by N trains at all times;{{NYCS const|timetable|N}} R trains at all times except late nights;{{NYCS const|timetable|R}} and W trains on weekdays during the day.{{NYCS const|timetable|W}} The station is between {{stl|NYCS|Lexington Avenue/59th Street|Broadway}} to the north and {{stl|NYCS|57th Street–Seventh Avenue}} to the south.{{NYCS const|map}}

Replicas of BMT directional mosaics "QUEENS TRAINS" and "BROOKLYN TRAINS" are found on the western exit. Each mezzanine has one stair to each platform. Mosaics "5", "Fifth Ave", and the directional signs on each platform, are fully preserved with new tiles encircling around them.

The artwork at the station, Urban Oasis by Ann Schaumburger, was commissioned in 1997 as part of the MTA Arts & Design program.{{cite book | last=Rosenfeld | first=Lucy D. | last2=Harrison | first2=Marina | title=Art on Sight: The Best Art Walks In and Near New York City | publisher=Countryman Press | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-88150-996-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=193QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA143 | access-date=July 6, 2024 | page=143}} It uses glass mosaic murals to depict families of different types of animals, particularly for the nearby Central Park Zoo.{{cite web | title=Urban Oasis | website=MTA | url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/urban-oasis | access-date=July 6, 2024}} The mosaics in the station include polar bears, snails, parrots, monkeys, and a golden horse.{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=1998-05-01|title=Next Stop, Murals; Change Here for Uptown Sculpture|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/01/arts/next-stop-murals-change-here-for-uptown-sculpture.html|access-date=2024-07-06|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

The full-time side of the station at the north end, at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, has three street staircases, one carved into the outer perimeter of Central Park (northwestern corner of that intersection) and the other two on either eastern corner of the intersection. The part-time side at Central Park South, just by the Plaza Hotel, formerly had a booth (closed in 2003) and three street staircases as well: two carved inside Central Park's perimeter, on the northern side of Central Park South, and one to the southern side, inside a building just west of the Plaza Hotel.{{cite NYC neighborhood map|Midtown}}

Despite its name, the station has no exit at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street.

{{Clear|left}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?202:329|BMT Broadway Subway|Fifth Avenue}}
• Station Reporter — [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204051427/http://www.stationreporter.net/ntrain.htm N Train]
• Station Reporter — [https://web.archive.org/web/20080608075315/http://www.stationreporter.net/rtrain.htm R Train]
• MTA's Arts For Transit — [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606075321/http://mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=N&station=2&xdev=0 5th Avenue–59th Street (BMT Broadway Line)]
• [https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.764852,-73.972428&spn=0,0.013314&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.764898,-73.972553&panoid=Cea4cifdf0PQmsRgxcTzCQ&cbp=12,132.55,,0,1.48 Fifth Avenue and 60th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View]
• [https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.765071,-73.97482&spn=0,0.013314&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.765034,-73.974716&panoid=YTLO-e5pQ8XDnT5YCsle9g&cbp=12,338.46,,0,5.11 Central Park South entrance from Google Maps Street View]
• [http://www.google.com/maps/@40.7652385,-73.9747406,3a,75y,176.33h,80.39t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-095-ied-4LE%2FVf4XAix6jxI%2FAAAAAAAAx48%2FtoNjNzClatg!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-095-ied-4LE%2FVf4XAix6jxI%2FAAAAAAAAx48%2FtoNjNzClatg%2Fw203-h100-n-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352!6m1!1e1 Central Park South lobby from Google Maps Street View]
• [http://www.google.com/maps/@40.76461,-73.9739567,3a,75y,301.5h,84.07t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-MWs5x7cmKqA%2FViRKCEGzYMI%2FAAAAAAAA7n8%2FENRXVt_mwM8!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-MWs5x7cmKqA%2FViRKCEGzYMI%2FAAAAAAAA7n8%2FENRXVt_mwM8%2Fw203-h100-n-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352!6m1!1e1 Platforms from Google Maps Street View]

{{Upper East Side}}

{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}

{{NYCS stations navbox by service|ln=y|lr=y|lw=y}}

{{NYCS stations navbox by line|broadway=yes}}

{{Fifth Avenue|state=collapsed}}

{{Central Park}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Avenue-59th Street station}}

Category:Fifth Avenue

Category:BMT Broadway Line stations

Category:New York City Subway stations in Manhattan

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1919

Category:Midtown Manhattan

Category:Upper East Side

Category:Central Park

Category:59th Street (Manhattan)