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.

 Eastern Parkway–
 Brooklyn Museum
 "2" train​​"3" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Manhattan-bound platform
Station statistics
AddressWashington Avenue & Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York
BoroughBrooklyn
LocaleProspect Heights
Coordinates40°40′18″N 73°57′46″W / 40.671622°N 73.96275°W / 40.671622; -73.96275
DivisionA (IRT)[1]
LineIRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services   2 all times (all times)
   3 all except late nights (all except late nights)
   4 late nights, and limited rush hour service (late nights, and limited rush hour service)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: B45, B48
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4 (2 on each level)
Other information
OpenedOctober 10, 1920; 104 years ago (1920-10-10)
AccessibleThis station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer
Yes
Traffic
20231,125,810[2]Increase 22.4%
Rank274 out of 423[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Grand Army Plaza
2 all times3 all except late nights4 late nights, and limited rush hour service

Local
Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College
2 all times3 all except late nights4 late nights, and limited rush hour service
services split
"5" train does not stop here
Location
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station is located in New York City Subway
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station is located in New York City
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station is located in New York
Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station
Track layout

Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times except late nights Stops all times except late nights
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only

History

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Construction and opening

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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.[3]: 150  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.[4] As part of the Dual Contracts, two lines under Flatbush Avenue, one each operated by the BRT and IRT, were approved.[5]: 203–219 [4] The IRT was authorized to extend its four-track Brooklyn line under Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway,[6] while the BRT would construct a parallel two-track extension of the Brighton Line,[7]

Groundbreaking for the IRT extension took place on May 23, 1914.[8][9] The Institute Park station, as the Brooklyn Museum station was originally known, was to be one of the stations on the IRT extension.[9] 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.[10][11] As a result, plans for the line were changed in October 1914.[12] 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.[13] 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;[14][15] the contract was confirmed that May.[16]

The tunnel between Grand Army Plaza and Nostrand Avenue was built using the cut-and-cover method, with two steam shovels excavating an estimated 600,000 cubic yards (460,000 m3).[17] Dirt from the excavation of the tunnel was used to infill the old Brighton Beach Race Course.[18] 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".[19] New signs and tiles had to be installed while the station finish work was already underway.[20]

Service on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line had been extended from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue in August 1920,[21] but the Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza, and Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum stations were not ready to open with the rest of the line.[22][23] The contractor responsible for completing the three stations had gone bankrupt in the middle of the project.[23] The stations opened on October 9, 1920.[22][24]

Later years

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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.[25][26] The work was performed by the Arthur A. Johnson Corporation.[26]

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.[27][28][29] These would be among the first stations in the MTA's new station refurbishment program, which began in 1982.[30] Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations.[29] 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.[31]

In 2002, it was announced that Eastern Parkway would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations.[32] The station subsequently underwent a renovation that lasted between 13 and 15 months;[33][34] the project was expedited in advance of the museum's anniversary.[35] The project, finished in April 2004, cost $12 million to $14 million to complete.[33][34] The Brooklyn Museum donated some architectural decorations,[36] which were installed within the station.[33][34] A new exit was also built, leading to the Brooklyn Museum's new main-entrance pavilion.[33]

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.[37][38][39] A contract for the elevators' construction was awarded in August 2018. Substantial completion was projected for October 2020,[40] but the elevators opened two months later.[41][42] Designed by Urbahn Architects and constructed by Gramercy Group, the project cost $25.8 million and included three elevators and a rebuilt staircase.[43][44]

Station layout

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Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
  Elevator to the south side of Eastern Parkway in front of the Brooklyn Museum
Platform level Side platform  
Northbound local   toward Wakefield–241st Street (Grand Army Plaza)
  toward Harlem–148th Street (Grand Army Plaza)
  toward Woodlawn late nights (Grand Army Plaza)
Southbound local   toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College)
  (  late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College)
Side platform  
Express Tracks Northbound express    do not stop here
Southbound express    do not stop here →

There are two local tracks with two side platforms. The express tracks pass underneath the station and are not visible from the platforms.[45] The 2 train stops here at all times,[46] while the 3 train stops here at all times except late nights.[47] The 4 train serves the station only during late nights.[48] The next station to the north is Grand Army Plaza, while the next station to the south is Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College.[49] 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.[50] The station contains 78 ornaments, which include cornices and statues salvaged from demolished buildings.[33] The platforms and the eastern mezzanine formerly displayed abstract art paintings created in 1991 by artist Pat Steir, collectively called the Brueghel Series.[51]

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

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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.[52]

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References

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  1. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  4. ^ a b "Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest" (PDF). The New York Times. March 20, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  6. ^ "Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest" (PDF). The New York Times. March 20, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Transit Relief Big Stimulus". The Brooklyn Citizen. April 13, 1913. pp. 13, 14. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Subway Festival Held in Brooklyn; McCall Turns the First Sod for Interborough Extension from Atlantic Ave". The New York Times. May 24, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Line Begun Today Taps Big Section". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 23, 1914. p. 23. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Now Sure That the Trees on Parkway Can Be Saved". The Chat. July 18, 1914. p. 19. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Urges City to Save Fine Parkway Elms". The Standard Union. July 18, 1914. p. 2. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "Finds Way to Save Big Parkway Trees". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 1, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "Eastern Parkway Bids to Be Opened April 20". The Standard Union. March 19, 1915. p. 9. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "Bids Opened for Parkway Subway". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 20, 1915. p. 2. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  15. ^ "Inter-Continental Co. May Construct Parkway Tube". Times Union. April 21, 1915. p. 5. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "Pushing Work on Brooklyn Subways". The Standard Union. May 30, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  17. ^ "Build Eastern Parkway Tube by Open-cut Method". The Chat. July 3, 1915. p. 36. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "City Duped in Plan to Get Subway Dirt; Flaw in Contracts". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 30, 1915. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Station Name Changed After Public Hearing" (PDF). The Brooklyn Standard Union. March 4, 1920. p. 11. Retrieved July 4, 2018 – via fultonhistory.com.
  20. ^ Commission, New York (State) Transit (1922). Annual Report ... J.B. Lyon Company. p. 131.
  21. ^ "More Interborough Service for Brooklyn 2 New Lines". pudl.princeton.edu. Interborough Rapid Transit Company. August 23, 1920. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Subway Stations Opened: Last Three in Eastern Parkway Branch of I.R.T. Put Into Service" (PDF). New York Times. October 11, 1920. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  23. ^ a b "3 New Subway Stations Open". Times Union. October 10, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  24. ^ "IRT Brooklyn Line Opened 90 Years Ago". New York Division Bulletin. 53 (9). New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. September 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2016 – via Issuu.
  25. ^ Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
  26. ^ a b New York City Transit Authority (1964). Proceedings of the New York City Transit Authority Relating to Matters Other Than Operation. The Authority. p. 86.
  27. ^ Fitzpatrick, Tracy (2009). Art and the Subway: New York Underground. Rutgers University Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780813544526.
  28. ^ Wallach, Amei (September 11, 1985). "The Arts Go Underground". Newsday. p. 145. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  29. ^ a b Anderson, Susan Heller (August 9, 1982). "How Culture in the Subways May Look". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "Untangling Knots in the Subway; Architect's Challenge Is to Make DeKalb Station Flow". The New York Times. February 3, 2000. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  31. ^ Brooke, James (June 20, 1986). "In Subway, an Accent on Culture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  32. ^ "Renovation Is Set for 10 Subway Stations". NY Daily News. June 11, 2002. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  33. ^ a b c d e Hazlewood, Summie (May 23, 2004). "Subway Stop Work of Art $14m Face-lift on Display at Eastern Pkwy. Station". New York Daily News. p. 7. ISSN 2692-1251. ProQuest 305886535.
  34. ^ a b c Purnick, Joyce (April 22, 2004). "Metro Matters; Museum Stop: Lots of Light And Gargoyles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  35. ^ Cho, Aileen (April 12, 2004). "Engineers Are Digging Deep To Rebuild New York's Subways; New York City's subway turns 100 with $2-billion program to improve functionality and aesthetics". Engineering News-Record. Vol. 252, no. 15. pp. 26–30. ProQuest 235762866.
  36. ^ Shelby, Joyce (April 15, 2004). "Old Beaux Gets Face-lift Brooklyn Museum Redesign Fuses Past & Future". New York Daily News. p. 3. ISSN 2692-1251. ProQuest 305880467.
  37. ^ "MTA Capital Program 2015-2019: Renew. Enhance. Expand" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 28, 2015. p. 61. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  38. ^ "Funding For Subway Station ADA-Accessibility Approved". www.mta.info. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  39. ^ "MTA 2017 Preliminary Budget July Financial Plan 2017 –2020 Volume 2" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  40. ^ "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 13, 2018. p. 90. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  41. ^ "Subway station for Brooklyn cultural icons now ADA compliant". Brooklyn Eagle. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  42. ^ "See: New Elevators Unveiled At Brooklyn Museum Subway Station". Prospect Heights-Crown Heights, NY Patch. December 18, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  43. ^ "MTA completes $29M upgrade to Brooklyn Museum subway station". Real Estate Weekly. November 18, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  44. ^ "Urbahn Architects, Gramercy Group complete renovation at MTA's Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum subway station". Mass Transit Magazine. January 3, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  45. ^ Brooklyn IRT: Map 2, Brooklyn IRT Dual Contracts
  46. ^ "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  47. ^ "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  48. ^ "4 Subway Timetable, Effective December 4, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  49. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  50. ^ "Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  51. ^ Brooklyn IRT: Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum
  52. ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Park Slope/Prospect Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
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