Grand Avenue–Newtown (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Grand Avenue–Newtown
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Manhattan bound platform with Metropolitan Avenue bound M at the station.
Station statistics
Address	Grand Avenue, Broadway & Queens Boulevard Queens, NY 11373
Borough	Queens
Locale	Elmhurst
Coordinates	40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°WCoordinates: 40°44′13″N 73°52′39″W / 40.73695°N 73.877521°W
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	E  (late nights)       M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)       R  (all hours except late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: Q58, Q59 MTA Bus: Q53, Q60
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	December 31, 1936
Wireless service	[1][2]
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	5,995,764[3]  2.3%
Rank	73 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Woodhaven Boulevard: E  M  R
Next south	Elmhurst Avenue: E  M  R
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays only
Location

Grand Avenue–Newtown is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under private property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Grand Avenue, Broadway, and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights,^[4] when the E train takes over service.^[5] The M train provides additional service here on weekdays except nights.^[6][7]

History

Track layout
Legend
to Woodhaven Blvd to Elmhurst Av

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first lines built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND),^[8][9][10] and stretches between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.^[8][10][11] The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25,000,000.^[12] On December 31, 1936, the IND Queens Boulevard Line was extended by eight stops, and 3.5 miles (5.6 km), from its previous terminus at Roosevelt Avenue to Union Turnpike, and the Grand Avenue station opened as part of this extension.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18]}

In Elmhurst, the destruction of almost all of the century-old buildings in the heart of the village were destroyed for the construction of the subway. Land was taken on the west side of the Broadway to avoid the demolition of the Saint James Episcopal Church and the Reformed Church. Many nineteenth century residences and the Wandowenock Fire Company buildings had to be torn down. To allow the subway line to curve into Queens Boulevard from Broadway, the northeast corner of the two streets was removed, in addition to some stores and an old Presbyterian chapel. New buildings were built behind a new curb line once the subway was completed, bringing a new face to Elmhurst. The introduction of the subway stimulated local growth in Elmhurst. Commercial buildings and apartment houses replaced existing structures.^[19][20]

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines
P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound local	← toward Metropolitan Avenue weekdays (Elmhurst Avenue) ← toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (Elmhurst Avenue) ← toward World Trade Center late nights (Elmhurst Avenue)
	Southbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Northbound local	→ ( weekdays) toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Woodhaven Boulevard) → → toward Jamaica Center late nights (Woodhaven Boulevard) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Entrance at Broadway

There are four tracks and two side platforms here.^[21] In between the local tracks and the express tracks, there are trackway walls.^[22] The station has a full length mezzanine, but as the fare control and booth area are at the center of the mezzanine, crossover is available only at the easternmost staircase. Each side has two sets of street stairs, with the full-time entrance at Grand Avenue and Broadway on the west end.^[23] The other two staircases by the crossover are closed at night, but there is HEET access at both ends without having to walk down to the middle of the mezzanine to exit fare control. It is evident from the two closed staircases at the Manhattan-bound side, that there were two fare control areas, one at each end.^[24] In total, this side of the station has four staircases in addition to the two closed ones mentioned, while the other side has five staircases.^[25]

Both platforms have a medium Cerulean Blue tile band with a black border with small "GRAND" captions in white lettering on a black background beneath them. They also have name tablets reading "GRAND AVE." with "NEWTOWN" shown beneath in white sans serif lettering on a black background and a Cerulean Blue border. Concrete-clad columns painted Cadet blue run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black name plates in white lettering.^[22][24][25]

References

1. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
2. More Subway Stations in Manhattan, Bronx in Line to Get Online, mta.info (March 25, 2015). "The first two phases included stations in Midtown Manhattan and all underground stations in Queens with the exception of the 7 Main St terminal."
3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
4. "R Subway Timetable, Effective November 7, 2016" (PDF). New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
5. "E Subway Timetable, Effective November 7, 2016" (PDF). New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
6. "M Subway Timetable, Effective November 7, 2016" (PDF). New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
7. "Subway Service Guide September 2015" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
8. Duffus, R.L. (September 22, 1929). "OUR GREAT SUBWAY NETWORK SPREADS WIDER; New Plans of Board of Transportation Involve the Building of More Than One Hundred Miles of Additional Rapid Transit Routes for New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
9. "QUEENS SUBWAY WORK AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: Completion Will Lead to Big Apartrnent Building, Says William C. Speers.". The New York Times. April 7, 1929. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
10. "Queens Lauded as Best Boro By Chamber Chief". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 23, 1929. p. 40. Retrieved 4 October 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
11. New York Times, New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000, March 21, 1925, page 1
12. "TEST TRAINS RUNNING IN QUEENS SUBWAY; Switch and Signal Equipment of New Independent Line Is Being Checked.". The New York Times. 1936-12-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
13. "NEW RETAIL AREA IN QUEENS BOROUGH; Sees Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station as Great Shopping Centre. ADVANTAGES POINTED OUT Accessibility to Many Home Communities Assures Potential Market.". The New York Times. 1933-07-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
14. "Reproduction Poster of Extension to Union Turnpike – Kew Gardens". Flickr – Photo Sharing!. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
15. Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
16. "PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others". nytimes.com. The New York Times. December 30, 1936. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
17. "CITY SUBWAY OPENS QUEENS LINK TODAY; Extension Brings Kew Gardens Within 36 Minutes of 42d St. on Frequent Trains.". The New York Times. 1936-12-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
18. "OPENING MOVED UP FOR NEW SUBWAY; Traffic to Be Started on the Extension of City's Line to Kew Gardens on Thursday. EIGHT STATIONS ARE ADDED La Guardia and Official Party Will Inspect New Queens Branch on Wednesday.". The New York Times. 1936-12-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
19. Seyfried, Vincent F. (1995). Elmhurst : from town seat to mega-suburb. Vincent F. Seyfried.
20. Seyfried, Vincent F.; Asadorian, William (1991-01-01). Old Queens, N.Y., in Early Photographs. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-26358-8.
21. Marrero, Robert (2015-09-13). "469 Stations, 846 Miles" (PDF). B24 Blog, via Dropbox. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
22. "Grand Street Photos 1-21 of 21". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
23. "Forest Hills, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Middle Village Neighborhood Map" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
24. Cox, Jeremiah. "Grand Avenue-Newtown (M,R) - The SubwayNut". www.subwaynut.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
25. "R Train". 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2016-07-12.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IND Queens Boulevard Line: Grand Avenue/Newtown
• Station Reporter — R Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• The Subway Nut — Grand Avenue–Newtown Pictures
• Grand Avenue — Broadway entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 54th Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View