NYCTA Rail Control Center (New York City, New York)

 1997_construction, switch control house, subway depot

5-story control center completed in 1997. It is the nerve-center of RTO. An around-the-clock work team monitors train movement throughout the entire system. The Rail Control Center, or RCC, is responsible for coordinating service, monitoring field conditions, and directing emergency responses.

The building has a long frontage on 54th Street and a slightly shorter frontage on 53rd. It has largely clad in grey metal panels, with orange brick and concrete at the ground floor, along with a low base of dark-brown brick at the sidewalk level. There are horizontal stripes of dark-brown brick along the ground floor, and at the west end, most of the ground floor is clad in dark-brown brick with orange only along the top, separated by a long span of metal louvers that continues to the east, about halfway down. The main entrance is near the east end on 54th Street, recessed, with three sets of glass-and-metal double-doors; a metal-panel canopy covers the entry, with a single, round column supporting it near the east end. To the left of the entrance the brick cladding is a little shorter and there is a garage door with a metal roll-down gate, painted brown. To the right of the entrance is a concrete panel at the mid-level of the ground floor, extending to a band of four windows. Where the mainly dark-brown clad section at the west end begins, there is a set of double service doors, and near the far west end is another garage door and service door.

The 2nd floor consists of a narrow band of windows with projecting concrete sills that resemble short balconies, completely with diminutive railings. These are separated into bays by metal piers; there are 12 bays, of various widths but with most having six window panes. The three western bays are separated from the rest by a much wider concrete pier that extends down to the ground floor. To the east of these 12 bays, above the main entrance, the 2nd floor is deeply recessed, separating the far east end of the building, which is clad in concrete, with windows at the 2nd & 3rd floors, and metal vents above.

The upper floors above the 2nd-floor window bands have no openings and are clad in grey metal panels, projecting slightly above the window bands at the 2nd floor, and from the metal piers in between the bays. Above, a concrete parapet projects out, and the top of the building consists of a barrel-vaulted metal roof.

The south facade along 53rd Street is shorter at only three floors, and is clad in reddish-brown brick. The ground floor is spotted with multiple recessed service doors and garage doors. There is a recessed secondary entrance at the east end, with a glass double-door flanked by a pair of windows. At this section, the 2nd & 3rd floors have bands of seven windows panes. The rest of the facade is organized into 16 bays, delineated by double-height recessed outlines of darker brick. The 2nd & 5th bays from the west each have a single-window; the 6th bay has a metal vent at the bottom of the outline, the 8th bay has both a window and vent, the 11th bay has a window, the 12th bay has a vent, the 14th bay has a windows, and the 16th bay has a vent.

The west elevation is a windowless expanse of tan brick.