Christopher Street station (PATH)

Christopher Street
PATH rapid transit station
The station platform as seen in 2022
General information
Location	137 Christopher Street Manhattan, New York
Coordinates	40.733602°N 74.006821°W / 40.733602; -74.006821
Owned by	Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Line(s)	Uptown Hudson Tubes
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	New York City Subway: ​ at Christopher Street–Stonewall NYCT Bus: M8, M20
Construction
Accessible	No
History
Opened	February 25, 1908 (February 25, 1908)
Passengers
2018	967,725[1]  48.2%
Rank	12 of 13
Services
Preceding station PATH Following station Weekdays Hoboken Terminus HOB–33 Ninth Street toward 33rd Street Newport toward Journal Square JSQ–33 Weeknights, Weekends, Holidays Hoboken toward Journal Square JSQ–33 (via HOB) Ninth Street toward 33rd Street
Track layout to Ninth Street Hudson River to Newport or Hoboken
Location

The Christopher Street station is a station on the PATH system. Located on Christopher Street between Greenwich and Hudson Streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it is served by the Hoboken–33rd Street and Journal Square–33rd Street lines on weekdays, and by the Journal Square–33rd Street (via Hoboken) line on weekends.

History

Entrance

The station opened on February 25, 1908, as part of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad extension between New Jersey and 33rd Street.^[2] It received a renovation in 1986, during which the station was closed completely for a period of time.^[3]

The station has long seen heavy traffic not only from passengers going to Jersey City and Hoboken, but also by Manhattan residents traveling from Greenwich Village to Midtown.^{[citation needed]} The nearest subway station, Christopher Street-Sheridan Square, is two blocks away.^[4] The already busy station received even more passengers after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which resulted in the destruction of the World Trade Center PATH station. With Christopher Street becoming the closest PATH station to New Jersey, it started experiencing serious overcrowding. In 2002, Christopher Street station was used by an average of 7,400 people per day, or about 2.701 million per year. This was more than twice as many as the 1.314 million passengers that used the station during 2001. The Port Authority had to make it an exit-only station during the morning rush hour.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, the Port Authority announced plans to build a second entrance at Christopher and Bedford Street (a block and a half east of the current entrance), to ease overcrowding at the station.^[5][6] The project would have included a 75-by-25-foot (22.9 by 7.6 m) mezzanine,^[6] in addition to a staircase.^[5] The Port Authority would have spent $29.6 million on the project, which also included new entrances at the Ninth Street station.^[5] Residents expressed concerns that the project would endanger the surrounding neighborhood's fragile historic buildings (through the vibrations that a major construction project would cause) and disrupt business and traffic. Local opposition caused the project to be canceled.^[7]

Station layout

The station has one island platform and two tracks.^[8]

G	Street level	Exit/entrance, buses
B1	Mezzanine
B2 Platform level		Fare control
	Southbound	←      HOB–33 (weekdays 6a-11p) toward Hoboken (Terminus) ←      JSQ–33 weekdays toward Journal Square (Newport) ←      JSQ–33 (via HOB) weekends toward Journal Square (Hoboken)
	Island platform
	Northbound	→      HOB–33 weekdays toward 33rd Street (Ninth Street) → →           JSQ–33 (via HOB weekends) toward 33rd Street (Ninth Street) →

The station entrance is in its own free-standing building, with a restored marquee displaying the original "Hudson Tunnels" name adorning the entranceway. Passengers descend a narrow stairway with several curves before arriving at the southwest end of the narrow center island platform.^[9]

Biff Elrod's mural "Ascent-Descent" (showing images of users of the PATH trains, ascending or descending the stairs) was originally painted on site in August 1986 as a temporary installation for the Public Art Fund, and later purchased by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was restored in 1999.

References

1. "PATH Ridership Report". Port Authority NY NJ. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
2. "TROLLEY TUNNEL OPEN TO JERSEY; President Turns On Power for First Official Train Between This City and Hoboken. REGULAR SERVICE STARTS Passenger Trains Between the Two Cities Begin Running at Midnight. EXERCISES OVER THE RIVER Govs. Hughes and Fort Make Congratulatory Addresses -- Dinner at Sherry's in the Evening" (PDF). The New York Times. February 26, 1908. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
3. Anderson, Susan Heller; Dunlap, David W. (May 27, 1986). "New York Day by Day; PATH Recalls Early Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
4. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: West Village" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
5. Dunlap, David W. (June 20, 2002). "Blocks; PATH Project Unloved in the Village". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
6. Kahn, Robert (June 7, 2002). "Group: PA Taking The Wrong Path". Newsday. p. A21. ISSN 2574-5298. ProQuest 279547459.
7. Amateau, Albert (October 22, 2003). "A change of course on PATH". The Villager. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
8. "Christopher Street (PATH) - The SubwayNut". subwaynut.com. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
9. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.

External links

• Hudson & Manhattan Railroad/Hudson Tubes
• Christopher Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View