The Astor Place Subway Station
There are experiences we share as a GCS community. The beauty of the church, the clamor of the lunch room, the stylish elegance of Mr. Mahabir’s jacket, among so many others. However, one important touchstone goes largely unnoticed: the Astor Place subway station. A sizable portion of our school passes through our local station everyday. Yet it goes without word or mention. I aim to show our community a little of its long history, so we can gain a greater appreciation for our daily stop.
Surprisingly enough, the Astor Place station is just as old as the New York Subway system as a whole and is a registered landmark. Our station was actually part of the original 28 stations completed by the Interboro Rapid Transit Company in 1904, the first of the three major New York Subway systems (which would merge to form the MTA). In the years that followed, Astor Place was a major component of the H system, servicing the rapidly growing Lower East Side, when the 6, 1 and 42nd street shuttle were the only parts of the system.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Unfortunately, the golden days of the Astor Place station were fleeting. Plans to expand the station to take PATH trains were dropped when the Great Depression nearly bankrupted the City. Further plans to expand or repair the then crumbling station were stayed indefinitely as the car came to rule New York in the wake of Robert Moses. Soon our station was overrun with junkies, homeless and the other signs of the city’s urban decay.
However, Astor Place did survive. With the city’s’ recovery the station did see some improvement. In the late 80’s and early 90’s some limited renovations were complete, which included repairing structural columns and installing much of the artwork seen today. However, a full renovation or reconstruction of the Astor Place Station has been held off due to the MTA’s persistent budget problems.
Despite being mangey, a bit run down and sort of creepy, the Astor Place Station, our station, remains an important part of our community life.