The station was built as part of the Chrystie Street Connection, which expanded train capacity on the Sixth Avenue Line. The Sixth Avenue extension to the new terminal at 57th Street was announced in 1962. The next year, the contract to construct the IND Sixth Avenue Line between 52nd and 58th Streets, including the 57th Street station, was awarded to Slattery Construction Company for $7.5 million. Construction of the spur ultimately cost $13.2 million. The 57th Street station opened on July 1, 1968, as one of two stations added during construction of the Chrystie Street Connection, the other being Grand Street. The opening of the station was celebrated by a 300-guest lunch on the platform on June 27, which was attended by Deputy Mayor Robert W. Sweet; MTA Chairman William J. Ronan; and Avenue of the Americas Association president Eyssell. The new station was intended to serve the new residential and commercial developments being built in the immediate area. Upon its opening, the 57th Street station acted as the terminus of two services, the B during rush hours and KK during off-peak hours. The KK was renamed the K in 1974 and eliminated in 1976. From 1978 to 1990, this station was also served by the JFK Express service to the eponymous airport. When the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed for construction from 1986-1998 and again from July to December 2001, this station was only served by a shuttle train along Sixth Avenue, which traveled to Grand Street. Starting in 1988, this station was served by Q trains on weekdays, B trains on weekday evenings and weekends, and F trains during late nights. This was the terminal for all services until the IND 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge opened on October 29, 1989 Late night F-train service was replaced by a shuttle in 1997. Since December 2001, when the 63rd Street Tunnel Connector opened in Queens, the F route has served this station at all times, simultaneous with the withdrawal of all other services from the 63rd Street Line. Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station underwent a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for several months. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps. In January 2018, the NYCT and Bus Committee recommended that Judlau Contracting receive the $125 million contract for the renovations of 57th and 23rd Streets on the IND Sixth Avenue Line; 28th Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and 34th Street–Penn Station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line. However, the MTA Board temporarily deferred the vote for these packages after city representatives refused to vote to award the contracts. The contract was put back for a vote in February, where Judlau's contract was ultimately approved. The station was closed for renovations on July 9, 2018, and reopened on December 19, 2018.
Station layout
57th Street station contains two tracks and a single island platform serving both tracks. The platform is 615 feet long, and is 24 feet wide. The station stretches from 55th Street to 58th Street. From the full-length mezzanine, which is, there are six staircases to the platform. The station walls are plain white, with "57th St" stenciled on long, narrow tiles along the wall. The platform is approximately below ground. Prior to the 2018 renovation of the station, the "Next Train" indicator lights still hung from the platform ceiling, dating from the period when the station was a terminal two decades prior. There is an unused tower and crew area at the southern end of the platform. The station contains a bronze plaque of Colonel John T. O'Neill, a former chief engineer of the New York City Transit Authority.
Exits
There are eight street staircases spread on both sides of Sixth Avenue from 56th to 57th Streets. Before the station's renovation, these entrances had an unusual design compared to older stations, with lit posts reading "SUBWAY" on their side rather than the lighted red-or-green globes typical to other station entrances. The station's exits are distributed as follows:
One stair, NW corner of 6th Avenue and 57th Street
One stair, NE corner of 6th Avenue and 57th Street
One stair, SW corner of 6th Avenue and 57th Street
Two stairs, east side of 6th Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets
One stair, NW corner of 6th Avenue and 56th Street
One stair, SW corner of 6th Avenue and 56th Street
One stair, SE corner of 6th Avenue and 56th Street
During the 57th Street station's renovation, glass barrier fences, next-train arrival "countdown clocks", and digital neighborhood wayfinding maps were installed around all of the exit stairs at street level, similar to at other stations renovated as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative. The two exits at the southern corner of 56th Street also received canopies similar to other Enhanced Station Initiative stations.
