Today our Tuesday Tour takes us to one of Metro-North’s newest stations, Yankees – E 153rd Street, or as many people think of it, Yankee Stadium station. The station construction coincided with the building of the new Yankee Stadium – the stadium opened on April 3, 2009, and the station shortly afterward on May 23, 2009. Though a station servicing the stadium had been talked about for a while, it was the new stadium that provided the motivation to get the project off the ground.

MTA preliminary design sketch of what Yankees-E 153rd Street station would look like. The completed station is very true to this rendering.

Timetables highlighting the new Yankees-E 153rd Street station. Hudson Line timetable from the collection of Bob Mortell.

While I generally like to feature history in our station tours, Yankees-E 153rd Street is a new station, thus I figured it would be interesting to instead check out the construction of the station. This is Metro-North’s newest station in New York (Fairfield Metro is the newest station, located in Connecticut). Historically, the New York Central offered special game day service to the old Yankee Stadium, but it required taking a train to Melrose, and either walking or taking a bus to the stadium itself. Now the stadium is just a short walk away – making Yankee Stadium extremely well connected with public transit (a subway station also services the stadium).

Flickr user Interloafer wonderfully documented the construction of Yankees-E 153rd Street station, even capturing the first train to service the station, and a shot of the first game day service. The below photos are from his collection:

  
  
 
  
 

While Yankees – E 153rd Street is designated as a Hudson Line stop, it is unique in that Harlem and New Haven Line trains service it on special game days. Using the wye at Mott Haven, trains from those two lines can move onto the Hudson Line, allowing passengers a one-seat ride to games and events. On non game days, the station is regularly accessible by trains on the Hudson Line.

An important part of the new station complex is the elevated and enclosed walkway that stretches from the station proper towards Yankee Stadium. An Arts for Transit piece was installed in this walkway, consisting of eleven mosaic panels, each measuring eighteen feet wide, and six and a half feet tall. The work is titled The Home of the Stars, and is by artist Ellen Harvey. Each panel displays a progression of time, from the sunset to the stars in the evening sky.

 
  
   
  
   
 

The Home of the Stars, an Arts for Transit piece by Ellen Harvey. Photographs of each individual panel from the artist’s website.

In the station proper, things look a bit different than at most other Metro-North stations. The rounded advertisement boards on the platform, and the large overhead dome in the mezzanine seem to resemble an airport more than a train station. This is also the only Metro-North station where you’ll find single person entry gates. On game days, you’ll need to hand in your ticket to get through these gates, in case there was not time to collect your fare on the train. The remainder of the station resembles the typical Metro-North station, complete with island platforms, wire benches, and blue trash bins.

Anyways, here are the photos I took at Yankees – E 153rd Street station… hopefully everyone out there is okay and has survived Sandy!