IND Subway Central Substation

 Art Deco (architecture), closed, historic landmark, electrical substation building

5-story Art-deco substation completed in 1932. Designed by Squire J. Vickers, it was built to serve the IND (independent) lines of the subway system. The largest substation in the system at the time of completion, it originally provided electricity for the B, D, and E trains. It is clad in tan brick above a 3-foot granite base, with limestone detailing at the ground floor and roof line. The facade is divided into two halves. The west half is framed by wide brick piers with a large central opening at the ground floor framed by limestone. Carved into the top of the surround are the words "CITY OF NEW YORK - CENTRAL SUBSTATION" below a lintel with geometric ornament including a pinnacle with a zig-zag lightning bolt. There are three bays of windows at the center of the 3rd, 4th, & 5th floors, with the middle window slightly wider; they have brick sills and there is a limestone shield-like form below the middle window at the 5th floor. This half is capped by limestone parapets with Art-Deco patterns.

The west half has two large openings at the ground floor, also framed in limestone with geometric carvings in the lintels and both topped by another vertical zig-zag lightning bolt. The upper floors all have two bays of paired windows with brick sills. The roof line, slightly shorter than that on the east, has a limestone parapet with geometric patterns.

The west elevation is clad in red brick and has a shallow light court with a metal fire escape.