65th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

src: upload.wikimedia.org

65th Street is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 65th Street and Broadway in Queens. It is served by the R train at all times except nights, when the E train takes over service. The M train provides additional service here on weekdays during middays and rush hours.

Video 65th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

History

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first lines built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), and stretches between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25,000,000. One of the proposed stations would have been located at 65th Street.

The first section of the line, west from Roosevelt Avenue to 50th Street, opened on August 19, 1933. E trains ran local to Hudson Terminal (today's World Trade Center) in Manhattan, while the GG (predecessor to current G service) ran as a shuttle service between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue on the IND Crosstown Line.

Maps 65th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Station layout

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. The two center express tracks are used by the E train during daytime hours and the F train at all times.

Signs to the Forest Hills-bound platform are on the wall instead of hanging over the staircase. The reason for this was because the original 1933 IND tile sign read "Jamaica and Rockaway", anticipating construction of a never-built system expansion. These signs remained uncovered as late as 2001. The 1933 Manhattan-bound tile signs remain intact.

The station's tile bands are Puce with a black border. Some violet replacement tiles have been placed.

West of this station, the express tracks become depressed and break from the local tracks. The express tracks run underneath Northern Boulevard, while the local tracks continue under Broadway and then turn to Steinway Street before meeting up with the express trains underneath Northern and Steinway. The line was built in this fashion because Broadway and Steinway Street are too narrow to align four tracks side by side underneath them.

Exits

The full-time mezzanine is at the eastern end has three staircases to each platform and two staircases to the street, one to either eastern corner of Broadway and 65th Street. Both sides had fare controls and former booths at platform levels at the far western end, at the opposite end of the current mezzanine. They have since been sealed. Signs at the northeast exit as well as the Manhattan-bound platforms are for Rowan Street, the former name of 65th Street.