Control House on 72nd Street
Why it's listed
At West 72nd Street and Broadway, a small buff brick building sits on a traffic island in Sherman Square. Completed in 1904, it served as an ornamental entrance to the Interborough Rapid Transit Subway and still functions as a station entrance. Heins & La Parge, consulting architects for the subway system, set it at the same angle as Broadway so it would form a focal point in the square. The building measures fifty by thirty-seven feet and rests on a granite foundation. Its Roman brick walls have limestone quoins, a low gable roof of terra-cotta blocks covered in copper, and shaped gables with terra-cotta coping and finials. The number 72 appears in a terra-cotta cross, and the limestone entrance surround is a modified Gibbs design. The interior is finished in white glass tile. It is one of four surviving IRT control houses, which represent the earliest entrances to the city's subway system, and it was listed for its architecture and its place in transportation history.
Significance in brief: It is one of four surviving IRT control houses, the original ornamental entrances to New York's first subway system. Reviewers noted the group is important for its architecture and its link to transportation history. The 72nd Street building remains virtually intact and is still used as a station entrance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80002684, listed May 6, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W. 72nd St. and Broadway, New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | May 6, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002684 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Heins & La Parge, consulting architects for the subway system |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a station entrance; described as virtually intact, with a fifth door added to the entrance side. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.77846, -73.98211 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80002684.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q17993833
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.