{"nrhp_refnum":"04001016","name":"Times Square-42nd Street Subway Station","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jct. of West 42nd St, and Broadway/Seventh Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.75544386200005,"lon":-73.98696319799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-09-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture","Art","Engineering","Community Planning and Development","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large multi-level subway complex at West 42nd Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, built in stages between 1904 and 1927. It combines the original IRT station (now the Shuttle) with the Broadway BMT, Seventh Avenue IRT and Flushing Line stations.","why_significant":"The nomination finds it significant under Criterion A for transportation, community planning and development, and social history, and under Criterion C for engineering, architecture and art. It is described as one of the subway system's most complex and historically important stations, and is believed to be the busiest subway station in the world. It also helped spark the growth of the Times Square district.","narrative":"Beneath the intersection of 42nd Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue lies a subway complex built in stages between 1904 and 1927. It joins four stations at different depths: the original IRT station now used by the Shuttle, the Seventh Avenue IRT line, the Broadway BMT line and the Flushing Line, the deepest at 60 feet. Construction used steel columns, concrete roofs and brick-backed walls finished in white tile with mosaic bands, including Arts and Crafts borders and station markers such as \"42\" and \"TS\". The station opened in 1904 as a local stop on the first IRT line. The New York Times moved its offices to the area, and Times Square grew into a commercial and theatre district. The complex is believed to be the busiest subway station in the world. A 2003 renovation removed much original decoration near the Shuttle, but the other sections keep largely intact mosaics and craftsmanship, supporting its listing for transportation, planning, social history, engineering, architecture and art.","period_of_significance":"1904-1927","architect_builder":"Parsons, William Barclay (engineer); Heins, George L. and LaFarge, Christopher G. (architects); Craven, Alfred (engineer); Turner, Daniel (engineer); Vickers, Squire J. (architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals/Beaux-Arts; Other/Arts and Crafts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a subway station; the Shuttle area lost much original decoration in a 2003 renovation, while the other three sections retain largely intact wall mosaics.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.85174-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04001016.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001016/1c3e011024-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001016/1c3e011024-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Harrison Leong","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Times_Square_-_42nd_Street_-_Shuttle_Track_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Harrison Leong</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Times_Square_-_42nd_Street_-_Shuttle_Track_1.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"08001034","name":"Garment Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/garment-center-historic-district-08001034/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313937","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square%E2%80%9342nd_Street_station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11265"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/times-square-42nd-street-subway-station-04001016/"}