{"nrhp_refnum":"06000023","name":"Substation 219","other_names":["Harlem Substation"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"309 W. 133rd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.815633595000065,"lon":-73.94822396099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture","Engineering","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Substation 219, also called the Harlem Substation, is a single-story, double-height masonry electrical substation at 309 West 133rd Street in Harlem, New York City. It was built in 1932 for the IND subway system.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A in transportation and community planning and development, and under Criterion C in engineering and architecture. It was built to power the 8th Avenue Line of the city-owned IND system and has an articulated Art Deco brick and limestone facade that conceals its function. It retains a relatively high degree of integrity and is significant at the local level.","narrative":"Substation 219, known as the Harlem Substation, is an electrical power building at 309 West 133rd Street in Harlem. Completed in 1932, it converts alternating current purchased from Con Edison into direct current for trains on the 8th Avenue Line of the city-owned IND subway. The rectangular building, about 50 by 100 feet, is a single-story, double-height masonry structure in the Art Deco style. Its brick facade has limestone coping, a diamond and chevron frieze, vertical brick bands, and a monumental limestone portal with embossed aluminum doors and a carved city nameplate. The facade hides the building's industrial purpose. Inside, a large windowless hall retains its original overhead crane, some circuit breaker panels, and basement switchgear, though solid state rectifiers have replaced earlier equipment. The substation supplies power to IND lines between West 125th and West 141st Streets. It was listed for its role in subway transportation, its engineering, and its architectural design, and it is now surrounded by a 1970s apartment complex.","period_of_significance":"1932","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Modern Movement/Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used for rail-related transportation; solid state rectifiers have replaced the original rotary converters, and some original equipment remains. Facade repairs were under way in 2004.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.436018-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/06000023.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000023/f3633a6011-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000023/f3633a6011-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Substation-219-309w133.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Substation-219-309w133.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313885","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substation_219","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7632100"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/substation-219-06000023/"}