Riding the Line – Manhattan

Portrait of Lou Reed by Chuck Close at the 86th Street Q train station
Portrait of composer Philip Glass by Chuck Close at the 86th Street station

The Q train begins its journey heading down the newest portion of its route on Second Avenue, stopping at 86th Street and 72nd Street before making a turn onto 63rd Street. It departs Yorkville and passes through subsections of the Upper East Side known as Carnegie Hill and Lenox Hill. The area contains the greatest concentration of wealth in the entire city and is known for its above-average living costs. A number of famous museums and landmarks such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Park Avenue Armory, and the Gilded Age Fifth Avenue mansion of Andrew Carnegie (now home to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum) are all located in these neighborhoods.

The Lexington Avenue-63rd Street station is the first stop that allows passengers to transfer over to a different line in the system. The F train stops on the opposite side of the platform and provides service between Jamaica-179th Street in Queens and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue. Passengers also have access to a free, out-of-station transfer if they walk a few blocks down to 59th Street where service to the N, R. W. 4, 5, and 6 trains is available. The station was renovated in 2017 as part of the Second Avenue Subway project and was modernized with sound-absorbing wall panels and a number of mosaics and lighting features.

Guggenheim Museum

The Q then pulls out of the station and passes under the lower section of Central Park before it makes a turn onto Seventh Avenue. Now heading south, the train merges onto the same line as the N, R, and W trains before it enters the 57th Street-7th Avenue station. The original Q train terminal leaves passengers in the heart of Manhattan with major attractions within walking distance from the station. Carnegie Hall is just across the street from the main exit, while the Museum of Modern Art, the SPYSCAPE Museum, and Central Park are also close by.

The Q train proceeds to make its first express stop on the route as it bypasses 49th Street and heads straight into the subway’s central hub at Times Square-42nd Street. Trains make local stops in Manhattan during late-night service, but offer one of the quickest options for commuters to travel down Broadway during the daytime. Stopping at the busiest station in the entire system provides connections to 11 different subway lines and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The next stop on the line is at 34th Street-Herald Square. The major commercial center at Herald Square was named after the former headquarters of the New York Herald. The building used to be located on the square itself, which is now a green space with a monument and seating area. Greeley Square, located just a few hundred feet from Herald Square, was named after the publisher of the New York Tribune, which was the Herald’s rival newspaper in the late 19th century. The spot on 34th Street is now widely recognized as a popular commercial center and is usually bustling with shoppers and tourists from around the city.

Union Square, where the Q train stops
Union Square with subway exit

The Q train then proceeds to ride past 28th and 23rd Streets before stopping at 14th Street-Union Square. Construction of the square was completed in 1882, but it had been laid out as a public space as early as 1832. It features a number of statues and monuments dedicated to figures like George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln. The area was home to the Rialto, one of the very first theater districts in New York City. This was a time when most of the theaters on Broadway were located around the Bowery and 14th Street before they eventually migrated up north to the current Theater District. The area developed in the early 1900s as a prominent space for the development of offices, businesses, and tenements. It later became a common space for farmers’ markets, social activism rallies, and street chess.

The next and final stop in Manhattan is Canal Street in Chinatown. Transfers at the station are available for the Queens-bound J and Z trains, as well as the R, W, 4, and 6 trains. As one of the stations with the highest ridership in the entire system, it demonstrates the sheer density that exists in a neighborhood with the highest population of Cantonese speakers in the Western Hemisphere. The streets of Chinatown are filled with vendors selling all kinds of goods ranging from jewelry and handbags to fruits and vegetables. Little Italy nearby also contributes to the high number of tourists that visit the historic neighborhoods in this portion of Lower Manhattan.

monument on Mott Street in Chinatown
Mott Street in Chinatown

As the train leaves Canal Street, it first passes over the Manhattan Bridge and offers riders a view of New York Harbor. Now, on to Brooklyn!