The Chambers Street station has a long history of changes, with trains entering the station from the Williamsburg Bridge originally, then the Manhattan Bridge when it was completed. There was also a Rockaway Beach service that originated from Chamber Street from 1913 to 1917, operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Brooklyn Rapid Transit.
In 1931, the Nassau street subway (now the J/Z lines) opened running south from Chambers Street. As part of this plan, two platforms were closed. Part of the station was converted into the basement of the Municipal Archives. Another platform was removed to accommodate the expansion of Brooklyn Bridge station.
The platform from which all the photographs were taken from is still accessible, as the the downtown J/M trains still stop on one side on weekdays.
A staircase exit from this formerly used platform:
The tiling on this platform has become significantly damaged:
Looks like someone literally just took out the tiling showing the Brooklyn Bridge design for their own usage:
The end of the platform:
On the uptown side, the tiling is completely different. This wall was added when the platform was co-opted into the Brooklyn Bridge station. You can still see the edge of that platform peeking out from the wall.
This post was excerpted from our roundup of 9 Abandoned and Incomplete Subway Platforms and Levels in NYC.
