Grand Army Plaza (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)

Grand Army Plaza
New York City Subway rapid transit station
300px Wings for the IRT: The Irresistible Romance of Travel artwork on the mezzanine level of the station
Station statistics
Address	Grand Army Plaza (north side) & Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11238
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Park Slope
Coordinates
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Services	2  (all times)       3  (all except late nights)       4  (late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: B41, B69
Structure	Underground
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	October 10, 1920 (1920-10-10)
Former/other names	Grand Army Plaza – Prospect Park
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	2,505,721  2%
Rank	195 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	Bergen Street: 2  3  4
Next south	Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum: 2  3  4
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only

Grand Army Plaza is a local station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line of the New York City Subway. It is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, underneath Flatbush Avenue at its northwest intersection with Grand Army Plaza. It is served by the 2 and 3 trains, the latter of which is replaced by the 4 train during late nights.

History

Grand Army Plaza opened on October 10, 1920 as part of the opening of the IRT Eastern Parkway Line, an extension of the Brooklyn IRT from Atlantic Avenue to Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum. This extension was part of an expansion of the subway system known as the Dual Contracts which built not only IRT lines in Brooklyn but also those for the BMT. The BMT Brighton Line was already in use at the time but used trackage that is now part of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle; the opening of the subway line beneath Flatbush Avenue provided a more direct route to Downtown Brooklyn and, eventually, Manhattan.

The construction of the station and tunnels resulted in the removal of Frederic W. Darlington's 1897 Electric Fountain from the center of Grand Army Plaza, which was dug up for the cut-and-cover construction and replaced with a grass oval. Construction began on a new fountain, known as the Bailey Fountain, in 1928, and it was completed in 1932.

Station layout

See also: New York City Subway chaining

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
B2	Northbound local	← toward Wakefield – 241st Street (Bergen Street) ← toward Harlem – 148th Street ( toward Woodlawn late nights) (Bergen Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn College – Flatbush Avenue (Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum) → → ( late nights) toward New Lots Avenue (Eastern Parkway – Brooklyn Museum) →
B3	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound Brighton Line	← do not stop here (Seventh Avenue)
	Southbound Brighton Line	→ do not stop here (Prospect Park) →
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →

File:Grand Army Plaza IRT E-Pkwy; Overhead Helvetica Sign.JPG

Inside the station

At platform level, Grand Army Plaza has a simple island platform layout with two tracks. Southbound (eastern Brooklyn-bound) trains use track E1 while northbound (Manhattan-bound) trains use track E4. Underneath the platform are four tracks, the center two, A4 (north) and A3 (south) carrying the BMT Brighton Line with tracks E2 and E3 carrying southbound and northbound express IRT Eastern Parkway Line trains on either side of the Brighton Line tracks, respectively. These track designations are only displayed on small emergency placards on either end of the platform for use by train and emergency personnel; they are not used in everyday conversation.

The only mosaic in the Grand Army Plaza station is a small "P". A permanent art installation in the station's entrances and mezzanine entitled Wings for the IRT: The Irresistible Romance of Travel was created in 1995 by Jane Greengold, who used the station regularly when she lived in Park Slope. The bronze and terra cotta pieces of art are modeled on the original Interborough Rapid Transit Company logo, and references the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch in the plaza above with its Winged Victories. The MTA's Arts for Transit program held an opening ceremony for the artwork on June 19, 1997.

Entrances and exits

The station has four entrances and exits, all of which are staircases:

• 2 on the northeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Plaza Street East
• 1 on the southwest corner of Flatbush Avenue and Plaza Street West
• 1 on the southeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Plaza Street West

External links

• www.nycsubway.org:
  • Brooklyn IRT: Grand Army Plaza
  • Brooklyn IRT: Map 2, Brooklyn IRT Dual Contracts (includes current and former track configurations, and provisions for future connections)
  • Wings for the IRT, The Irresistable [sic] Romance of Travel Artwork by Jane Greengold (1993)
• Station Reporter — 2 Train
• Station Reporter — 3 Train
• The Subway Nut — Grand Army Plaza Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Grand Army Plaza (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)
• Plaza Street entrance (northeast from Grand Army Plaza) from Google Maps Street View