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(rshsdepot) Comfort Station
From the New York Times=2E=2E=2E
Cold Comfort=20
Q=2E On the south side of 125th Street at Park Avenue, under the Metro-Nor=
th
tracks, is a locked, deserted one-story building=2E A legend on the exteri=
or
says "=2E =2E =2E port station" but the word that precedes it is worn away=
=2E What
is this building's history?
A=2E This small building is a remnant of what was once a common feature in=
the city's transportation system: a public restroom=2E In the 1940's there=
were more than 1,500 of them in New York's subway and train stations, and
they were inspected weekly=2E Today there are fewer than 100=2E
This public restroom was built in the 1890's by the old New York Central
Railroad directly under the railroad's tracks at 125th Street and Park
Avenue=2E The faded sign actually reads "fort station," as in "comfort
station," which is what the sign offered riders looking to freshen up on
the way to Connecticut or Boston or coming into the city from the north=2E=
The New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968, formin=
g
the Penn Central, but it was not enough to save the companies; the Penn
Central declared bankruptcy in 1970=2E The comfort station was then given =
to
the city and has remained closed with no immediate plans for the future=2E=
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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