Beneath the asphalt, roaring traffic, and towering glass skyscrapers of New York City lies one of the world’s largest and most storied rapid-transit systems. The subway has 472 stations and 665 miles of mainline track, carrying millions of riders through a network that still contains forgotten platforms, sealed passageways, unused lower levels, and abandoned loops.
Behind rusted gates, dark signal rooms, and tiled walls sit pieces of an earlier New York. Some are grand remnants of the original IRT, while others are unfinished provisions for lines that never materialized. One is not a subway station at all, but a railroad siding beneath one of Manhattan’s most famous hotels.
What follows is the documented history behind nine abandoned or unused subterranean spaces and one of the New York subway system’s most persistent legends.
1. Old City Hall Station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
Location: Beneath City Hall Park, Lower Manhattan…