{"nrhp_refnum":"06000025","name":"Substation 17","other_names":["Dyckman-Hillside"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"127-129 Hillside Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.86011473900004,"lon":-73.92651956599997,"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 17, also called the Dyckman-Hillside Substation, is a two-story, free-standing masonry electrical substation at 127-129 Hillside Avenue in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. It was completed in 1905 as part of the original IRT subway system.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant for transportation, community planning and development (Criterion A) and for engineering and architectural design (Criterion C). It is one of only four remaining original IRT substations, along with numbers 13, 15 and 18. Its Beaux-Arts, Italianate palazzo design was meant to fit the streetscape, and it retains a relatively high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Substation 17, also known as the Dyckman-Hillside Substation, is a two-story masonry building at 127-129 Hillside Avenue in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Completed in 1905, it was one of eight substations the Interborough Rapid Transit Company built to convert high-voltage alternating current from the 59th Street powerhouse into direct current for subway trains. Designed in a Beaux-Arts, Italianate palazzo manner, it has hipped-roof tower projections, buff terra cotta friezes, arched clerestory windows and monumental pointed-arch portals. Unlike later, more utilitarian substations, it was conceived as part of the streetscape and sits beside the Dyckman Street elevated station. It is one of four original IRT substations that survive. A 1994 renovation removed the original rotary converters and replaced windows and roofing, but the building's form, ornament, elevator and staircases remain largely intact. It was recognized for its roles in transportation, engineering and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1905","architect_builder":"IRT Associate Architect Paul Hunter (most likely responsible for the design, per the form)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals/Beaux-Arts (Beaux-Arts, Italianate Palazzo)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use: modern electrical equipment occupies the central floor, a battery control room is in one tower, and the Transit Authority's Elevator and Escalator Shop uses the second floor. Original generating equipment was removed in a 1994 renovation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.98625-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/06000025.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000025/c5cc3ad59f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000025/c5cc3ad59f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dyckman-Hillsde_Substation_from_Hillside_Avenue.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</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:Dyckman-Hillsde_Substation_from_Hillside_Avenue.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100011048","name":"Dominican Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/dominican-historic-district-100011048/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313879","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyckman-Hillside_Substation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7632097"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/substation-17-06000025/"}