Willis Avenue station

For the steam production plant in Detroit, see Willis Avenue Station.

The Willis Avenue station was an elevated rapid transit station of the Willis Avenue Spur that branched off of the IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx, New York City. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1924.

Willis Avenue
Former New York City Subway station
Station statistics
Address	East 132nd Street and Willis Avenue Bronx, NY 10454
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Port Morris
Coordinates	40°48.32′0″N 73°55.57′0″W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Willis Avenue Spur
Services	None
Transit	Harlem River (NHRR-NYW&B station)
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms, 1 island platform
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	November 25, 1886 (November 25, 1886)
Closed	April 14, 1924 (April 14, 1924)
Traffic
2023
Rank	out of 423
Station succession
Next north	(Terminus)
Next south	129th Street
Former services Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Terminus Harlem River Branch Port Morris toward New Rochelle Preceding station New York, Westchester and Boston Railway Following station Terminus Main Line Port Morris toward Columbus Avenue
Location
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays during the day Stops weekends during the day Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops all times except nights and rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

History

The Willis Avenue station (top).

Willis Avenue station was opened on November 25, 1886 by the Suburban Rapid Transit Company as a connecting spur to the Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad's Harlem River Terminal Station. The HR&PC was chartered 20 years earlier and operated trains owned by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The station was located next to the 133rd Street Yard, and served both the Second and Third Avenue line trains. The spur ran from the 129th Street Station in Manhattan across the Harlem River Bridge, thereby creating two separate transportation hubs on both sides of the Harlem River. Suburban Rapid Transit was acquired by the Manhattan Railway Company in 1891, and then by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1902. By 1912, the station would also begin to serve the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, an electrified commuter line serving the Bronx and southern Westchester County. Despite the name the railroad never actually reached Boston. For the next decade the station became a vital link not only for rapid transit commuters, but interurban, commuter rail, and intercity rail passengers.

The station was closed for IRT service on April 14, 1924, when a connecting pedestrian bridge was opened between the nearby Third Avenue El station at 133rd Street, although the Third Avenue Line continued to cross the Harlem River until 1955. The HR&PC was officially merged with the New Haven Railroad on January 1, 1927. Harlem River Station continued to serve the New Haven Railroad and New York, Westchester and Boston Railway until 1930 when the NYNH&H left, and was closed completely on December 31, 1937, when the NYW&B fell into bankruptcy.

See also

• Harlem River Intermodal Yard

External links

• Willis Avenue Spur images (NYCSubway.org)