The 66th Street–Lincoln Center station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 66th Street and Broadway in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.
The 66th Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 66th Street station began on August 22 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms have been lengthened since opening.
The 66th Street station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. The platforms contain exits to 66th Street and Broadway as well as to Lincoln Center, and to schools in the Center such as The Juilliard School and Fordham Lincoln Center. The station contains elevators from the street, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
History
Construction and opening
thumb|Southbound street stair at 65th Street
Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864, The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. The 66th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch. the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. Platforms at local stations, such as the 66th Street station, were lengthened by between . Both platforms were extended to the north and south.
In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 66th Street and five other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from . The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.
1940s to 1970s
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the 1 and the Lenox Avenue route as the 3.
The original IRT stations north of Times Square could barely fit local trains of five or six cars depending on the configuration of the trains. Stations on the line from 50th Street to 96th Street, including this station but excluding the 91st Street station, had their platforms extended in the 1950s to accommodate ten-car trains as part of a $100 million rebuilding program (equivalent to $ million in ). in February 1957. The platform extensions at the local stations were completed by early 1958. Once the project was completed, all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express, and eight-car local trains began operation. Increased and lengthened service was implemented during peak hours on the 1 train on February 6, 1959. Due to the lengthening of the platforms at 86th Street and 96th Street, the intermediate 91st Street station was closed on February 2, 1959, because it was too close to the other two stations.
1980s to present
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 66th Street, Astor Place, Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum, and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street, were selected for the program due to their proximity to cultural institutions. Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations. The MTA announced in 1983 that it would allocate funding to renovate the 66th Street station as part of its capital program.
The renovation was supposed to have been partially funded by developer Daniel Brodsky, who had contributed $1.06 million toward the project in exchange for more floor space at 45 West 67th Street, an apartment building that Brodsky was constructing nearby. Several developers would have contributed additional funds for the project. However, the funds remained unused for several years. 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. According to New York City Planning Commission chairwoman Sylvia Deutsch, the MTA had chosen to delay the 66th Street project. the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of a skip-stop service: the 9 train. When skip-stop service started in 1989, it was only implemented north of 137th Street–City College on weekdays, and 66th Street was served by both the 1 and the 9. Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.
In 1996, the MTA announced that it would renovate the 66th Street station over the next three years starting that September. As part of the $16 million project, the station would get new floor and wall tiles, new lighting, a new staircase, and would have two elevators installed to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition, communication and power systems were upgraded, and control areas were redesigned. As part of the Arts for Transit program, mosaics by Nancy Spero were installed on the platforms. At the time of the renovation, the station had seen a 12 percent increase in ridership over the past few years because of the presence of new apartment buildings and popular businesses nearby.
The 66th Street station received esthetic improvements in early 2024 as part of the MTA's Re-New-Vation program. The elevators were then replaced, reopening in June 2025.
Station layout
250px|thumb|Street entrance and elevator
Like other local stations, 66th Street has four tracks and two side platforms. The station is served by the 1 at all times and by the 2 during late nights; the center express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 train at all times. The station is between 72nd Street to the north and 59th Street–Columbus Circle to the south. The platforms were originally long, like at other local stations on the original IRT, There is also a crossunder between the uptown and downtown side platforms at the extreme south end of the station, which is not wheelchair-accessible.
Design
As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method. The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. This trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than thick. There is a gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of -thick brick covered over by a tiled finish. The artwork, installed in 2001, consists of 22 panels that depict a diva in various settings, a reference to the station's location next to Lincoln Center.
Nearby points of interest
The station provides access to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts just to the south, with Alice Tully Hall just to the west. All of the Lincoln Center venues are connected by underground concourses near the southern end of the station. Dante Park, upstairs at the south end, is named for the poet Dante Alighieri, whose statue is found there. Richard Tucker Park is nearby, at the north end of Lincoln Square.