City Hall Loop

The City Hall Loop was a terminal station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. It opened as a part of the first subway and closed in 1945, even though the tracks are used to turn trains around.

History
It was constructed as part of the first subway. It opened in October 27, 1904 as part of the original subway of 28 stations, including Worth Street, 18th Street and 91st Street. At the time, the station was also called "City Hall Loop". Unlike the rest of the subway line, the City Hall station had tall tile arches, brass fixtures, chandeliers, skylights, polychrome tile, and elegant curves that ran along the platform. It was lit by wrought iron chandeliers and the three skylights of cut amethyst glass that allowed sunshine onto parts of the platform. During World War II, the skylights were blacked out with tar for safety.

Closure
When the subway cars' length was increased from 5 to 10, the curve was so sharp in the station that it created unsafe gaps. It only served 600 passengers a day, because of the close proximity to the express station Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. Its last day of service was on December 31st, 1945, and it finally closed. During its closure, 6 trains were cut back to the its current terminus, Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall.

Current status
Even though the platform was abandoned, the track are still used to turn 6 trains. In April 1995, federal grant money was sought to reopen the station as a branch of the New York Transit Museum, which occasionally ran tours of the station as part of its popular "Day 1 of the IRT" and "Beneath City Hall" packages. In late 1998, due to perceived security risks in the area around City Hall after terrorist bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the station was declared a "highly secure" area by the Giuliani administration. Plans for the museum annex were abandoned and museum tours ceased for several years.

On the surface, all that can be seen is a concrete slab inset with glass tiles, the skylights for the platform below. This patch of concrete is in the middle of a grove of dogwoods in front of City Hall, close to Broadway. However, for the 2004 Centennial Celebration, one of the street entrances was restored (and presently resembles a modern station entrance), and the station was opened for the duration of the celebration. Otherwise, the station is now used only as an emergency exit. As of 2006, tours of the station are once again being conducted, by the staff of the Transit Museum. However, at present, tours are only open to registered members of the museum and require advance payment and reservations.

The station can also be viewed by passengers who stay on the 6 and <6>​ services as they travel around the loop to head back uptown. Artificial lighting has often been dim to save electricity, but the skylights provide some illumination during the daytime. The loop track is classified as revenue track, and the announcement programs on the R142A subway cars, which were formerly used on the 6 and <6>​ services, announce a special message reminding passengers that trains would turn around via the loop station. The older R62As, which make up the entire 6 and <6>​ services' fleet as of 2018, use manual announcements.

A replica of the station was built for the feature film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. In addition, the station is said to be the model for the lair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.