The Wall Street station was built on the portion of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line built as part of the Dual Contracts, which is the section south of Times Square–42nd Street. The line first opened as a shuttle to 34th Street–Penn Station on June 3, 1917, and then south to South Ferry on July 1, 1918. On this same date, the Wall Street station opened, with service to the station running as a shuttle between Chambers Street and Wall Street, on the line's Brooklyn Branch. On August 1, 1918, the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square. As a result, shuttle service to this station was replaced by through service. This station was the line's terminus until April 15, 1919, when the Clark Street Tunnel opened, allowing service to run to Brooklyn. During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Wall Street, along with those at four other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, were lengthened to 525 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 51-foot IRT cars. In 1995, as a result of service reductions, the MTA was considering permanently closing one of the two Wall Street stations, as well as two other stations citywide, due to their proximity to each other. Either the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line station or the IRT Lexington Avenue Line station would have been closed.
Station layout
This underground station is the southernmost in Manhattan on the Brooklyn Branch of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. South of here, the line travels under the East River via the Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn Heights. The single island platform is between the two tracks, and is very narrow compared to other stations in system. It has blue I-beam columns and dark blue floors tiles. The walls by the tracks have small "W" tablets on a mosaic trim except at the north end, where they have "WALL ST" written in black letters on white tablets over a green trim line. This is where the platform was extended in 1964–1965. There is a narrow full-length mezzanine above the platform that has mosaics pointing to, and connecting, all four station entrances.
Exits
This station has four entrances/exits:
The first exit is at the northern end of the station. It has a customer assistance booth with a bank of turnstiles and long passageway to a set of doors, where a short staircase goes up to the front entrance of 28 Liberty Street. Though signs at this entrance/exit say it leads to Cedar and William Streets, which are right outside the building, it does not go to the actual streets and the building entrance has no signs informing people that there is a subway entrance inside. This entrance is only open on weekdays.
The second exit, also open weekdays only, contains a bank of turnstiles and passageway to a spiral staircase that leads to Pine Street outside 60 Wall Street. The passageway has an artwork called Subway Wall by Harry Roseman made in 1990 and installed after a 1993 station renovation. This exit also has a set of doors to two escalators and a double-wide staircase that go up to the public atrium lobby of 60 Wall Street. This entrance has two red globes and overhead signs, giving the impression of an outdoor station entrance built in the lobby.
The third exit was the first to open to the station and is staffed full-time. It has a bank of turnstiles and staircases to both northern corners of William and Wall Streets. The entrance at the northeast corner, outside 48 Wall Street, is made of ornate metal and has a sign reading "Interborough Rapid Transit Co-to All Trains."
The last exit is at the south end of the station, which leads to the same intersection as the third exit but is in a separate fare control area. A single double-wide staircase from the platform leads to two HEET turnstiles and two regular turnstiles. Staircases lead to both southern corners of William and Wall Streets; the southeastern corner exit is outside 55 Wall Street. This exit, though open at all times, is unstaffed as there is no token booth.
A fifth exit, which led to the southwestern corner of Pine Street and William Street, was closed.
