Summary: The New York City subway was a marvel of 20th century engineering. Engineers and workers faced a variety of challenges as they planned and tunneled through Manhattans varied geology. The greatest of these challenges occurred in the construction of the Fort George Tunnel through the northern Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights. The twomile tunnel runs deep underground from 158th Street to Hillside Avenue in Manhattan. Lying deep within this tunnel, eight to ten stories below the street, are the subways deepest stations, 168th and 181st Streets. Owing in part to its depth, 168th Street is one of the most visually stunning stations in the subway system.The 168th Street station opened in 1906, two years after most of the original stations. Thanks to its incredible scale, the station has been called undoubtedly one of the grandest in the system. While its length and width 517 and 47 feet, respectively, today are similar to other early stations, its height most certainly is not. The center section of the station measures 26 feet high, more than twice the height of most other stations. At the highest points of these ceilings massive chandeliers once hung to illuminate the station. The chandeliers have been replaced with huge light fixtures, but the dramatic design anchoring the lighting still remains.This station relied on another critical invention of the era the elevator. Subway engineers met with representatives from the Otis elevator company in 1901, early in the planning stages. Four elevators bring passengers from the mezzanine to the downtown platform. Two crossovers allow passengers to access the uptown platform. The original crossing at the center of the platform incorporates a typical IRT station railing, iron with round finials above the top rail. The second crossing was added later, but was designed in a similar style as the original. Both have original lamp fixtures topped with large white shades.Standing on the main platform, it is difficult to believe that youre in a New York City subway station. Why There are very few columns. Columns are defining elements of most stations, so their scarcity here is noticeable. They can only be seen on the southern end of both platforms. But if you take a look at the walls youll be quickly reminded that you are in one of New Yorks early IRT stations. The ceramics designed by architects Heins amp LaFarge should be a familiar sight to most subway riders.168th Street features eight mosaic name tablets, four on each side of the station. With white letters, a dark green background, and a border featuring floral and geometric motifs, these plaques are similar to those youll see in Manhattans southernmost stations, ten miles away. But look above the name tablet and youll see something unique, a departure from the standard motifs of the name plaque. Here are stunning large mosaic rosettes in pink and brown. The 181st Street station also in the Fort George tunnel is the only other place these appear. So despite the stations outstanding scale, it retains the look of the other Heins amp LaFarge stations.When the platform extensions were added to the southern end of the station in 1909 and 1947, the wall treatments were sympathetic to the original station walls. There are a few differences in color, and some details, such as the large pink and brown flowers, are absent.Despite this wall treatment, the areas with the platform extensions have a very different feel from the rest of the station. Here, the lighting changes dramatically the harsh florescent lights stand in sharp contrast to the soft light of the original station. Columns suddenly appear. These columns are decorated with a variation of the mosaic band that can be seen all the way along the platform. But the most striking feature of the extension area is the ceiling height. Here the ceiling height is the same as in a normal station, as opposed to the dramatic high ceilings of the rest of the station.The need for these platform extensions underscores the subways impact on Washington Heights. When the subway first opened, the area contained several large estates and medical facilities. Soon the neighborhood became a busy residential area. In 1928, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center opened. Today, it helps define the neighborhood.
