86th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

86th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

86th Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of West 86th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and the 2 train during late nights only.

This underground station, opened as part of the original subway on October 27, 1904, has two side platforms and four tracks. The two express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 train at all times.

This station was renovated in the 1980s, but still has its original mosaic and terra-cotta wall reliefs consisting of blue trim with some "86" cornucopias. There are also a few "Men" and "Women" relief signs for now defunct restrooms. Most of the decoration molding and incandescent light bulbs on the ceiling remain intact. At the northern part of the platforms, where they were extended in the 1950s, the walls have cream-colored tiles with a pink trim line and black "86th ST" written on them at regular intervals.

All fare control areas are on platform level and there are no crossovers and crossunders. The full-time one is near the center of the southbound platform. It has a turnstile bank, token booth, and two staircases going up to either western corners of West 86th Street and Broadway. The northbound platform's fare control area here also has a turnstile bank and two staircases going up to either eastern corners of the same intersection. However, it is unstaffed as its customer assistance booth is now closed.

The southbound platform has another fare control near the north end. A bank of three turnstiles lead to a token booth that is only staffed during rush hours and a staircase going up to an alcove inside 246 West 87th Street, located on the southwest corner of West 87th Street and Broadway. A MetroCard vending machine is in the alcove.

This station has an artwork installed in 1989 entitled Westside Views by Nitza Tufiño. The artists are students of Manhattan Community Board 7 and the Grosvernor House. Scenes include 72nd Street, medians on Broadway, FDNY, kids at play, Ida Straus memorial in Straus Park, boats at the 79th Street Boat Basin, New York Buddhist Church Street vendors, and a New York City Bus. A poem entitled West Side Views by student Pedro Pieti is also featured.