155 Street-8 Avenue (B,D)

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If a passenger didn't know what stood just above the 155 Street-8 Avenue subway station from the day it opened with the IND Concourse Line on July 1st, 1933 to when it held its final sporting event in December 1963, and was then torn down they would wonder why the station has varies features for an extremely high occupancy station. The particularly interesting feature is it's only entrance/exit has a quadruple wide staircase up to Frederick Douglass Blvd (formerly named 8th Avenue), at a location in front of a housing project and dead ends north of the station at entrance/exit ramps to the Harlem River Drive, and just south of the station is the elevated highway structure that takes 155 Street over this valley from Cogan’s Bluff to the Macombs Dam Bridge. The station has evidence of what was once a full length mezzanine that has now been halved with only it's northern end still open, this mezzanine has an unprecedented number of staircases. Each side platform has four staircases up to the mezzanine portion that is still open. There are even more staircases that have been abandoned. There are five on the uptown platform and four on the downtown platform. All of these, with the exception of one at the southernmost end of the downtown platform-this one has a fence with a door in it along the platform that leads to another door in the abandoned mezzanine area-have been completely surrounded by what looks like metal sheeting that is painted black, making the staircases look even more abandoned. The portion of the mezzanine that is open has an unusual high occupancy set up as well. Please see the diagram below that highlights these complexities. The decorations of the station is the long and narrow white brick shaped tiling that seems to be unique to the Concourse line along the platform and mezzanine walls. The name tablets say 155th St-8th Ave and are white text with a dark background and an orange border. The trim is the same orange color with a black border and small 155 tiles below it at regular intervals. Oh and by the way the reason the station is so complex is that the area it serves is the Polo Grounds Houses (or towers as the welcome sign seems to say). The station was built to serve the New York Giants at their home ballpark.

Diagram of the mezzanine layout at 155 St-8 Av

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(155d1) A 155th St.-8th Ave name tablet.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d2) The 155 tiling just below the yellow-orange trim.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d3) Looking up the portion of the mezzanine that is at an incline towards its northeastern end. This view is from the uptown side and shows the very wide area to the station exitPhoto by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d4) Looking down the wide mezzanine at 155 St-8 Ave towards the middle of the station. The middle has an area with a cinderblock wall and doors since currently only half the mezzanine is open for public usePhoto by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008

(155d5) A simple IND machine age mosaic for the uptown platform at 155 St-8 AvePhoto by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d6) A mosaic for the downtown platform at 155 St-8 AvePhoto by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d7) Looking down the Downtown platform at 155 St-8 Ave, one of the many black cubes that is an abandoned staircase is visible.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d8) The platforms at 155 St-8 Ave get quite narrow in places do to the staircases.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008

(155d9) A name tablet at 155 St-8 Ave with an ancient looking wooden bench underneath it. This seems to be the only bench along either of the platforms except for a modern one in the 'Off Peak Waiting area' with in fare control across from the three turnstilesPhoto by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d10) Another view down the downtown platform at 155 St-8 Ave, two more abandoned staircases are visible.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d11) The back of an abandoned staircase at 155 St-8 Ave, the back of it has some hidious looking white sheeting covering something.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d12) The one abandoned staircase that still has stairs visible at 155 St-8 Ave, it is gated off with some of the various pieces of subway trash in the stairwell that seem to accumulate in these places including a sign that seems to have come from a tunnel wall. At the top of this staircase is a door with a sign on it reminding employees to reset the alarm.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008

(155d13) Another view of the abandoned staircase at the southwestern end of the downtown platform that is closed to the general public but does seem to lead somewhere.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d14) Looking up at a locked door at the top of this staircase.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d15) A side view of the fenced off staircase at 155 St-8 Ave, the end of the downtown platform is visible.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008	(155d16) A name tablet at 155 St-8 Ave and the sheet metal that is painted back that is the front of an abandoned staircase.Photo by Jeremiah Cox, 24 June, 2008
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