The NYC Central Substation on West 53rd St. between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Housed within this five-story building are the transformers that convert high-voltage AC electricity to lower-voltage DC to power the subway rails.
New York City originally had three separate train lines: the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT), Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), and the Independent Line (IND). Eventually they were consolidated into a single system. The IND line was the last line built, and in fact was city-owned, in contrast to the other two lines, which were private businesses, so I'm not sure what was independent about it. The IND line was built in the 1930s, and each sub-station was built in the Machine Age style, a variant of Art Deco. The IND substations each had an individual design, and are all still in use today. This one, completed in 1932, was the largest of the substations at the time. It was designed by Squire J. Vickers, chief architect of for the NYC subway system who designed over 300 stations and buildings for the system. In 2006, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more on the IND Substations, check out this post on Forgotten NY.
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