Photograph of Van Cortlandt Park - 242nd Street — Photograph by Adam Moss from Highland Park, NJ, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT)

Built in 1908. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. 15 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1891.

From the record

“The Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street station is the northern terminal station of the New York City Subway's IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line. Located at the intersection of 242nd Street and Broadway on the border of Fieldston and Kingsbridge in the Bronx, it is served by the 1 train at all times.”
Wikipedia article Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street station, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 91 National Register listings published here for Bronx County · listed in 2005 · category: Structure · built in 1908, by Heins & LaFarge.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. 242nd Street--Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT) - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. Above Broadway at the jct. of W. 242nd St., Bronx, 10463
When was it listed? March 2005
Category. structure
Also known as. New York City Subway System MPS
Borough. The Bronx
When was it built? 1908
Architect. Heins & LaFarge
National Register reference number. 05000226 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1891 to 1998

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 107 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering 242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT), surveyed 1998

Topographic sheet covering 242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT), surveyed 1891

Fires near this property

2,448 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2,448 fires within 5 miles of 242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT) between 2000 and 2020, burning about 831 acres in total. 140 started naturally. 142 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1712
Recreation and ceremony	153
Smoking	149
Arson/incendiarism	142
Natural	140
Equipment and vehicle use	62
Debris and open burning	54
Misuse of fire by a minor	16
Power generation/transmission/distribution	8
Other causes	8
Railroad operations and maintenance	4

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2016	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
9 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA
9 September 2015	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA
9 September 2010	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named

Every fire recorded in Bronx County

Mines and quarries near this property

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of 242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park Station (IRT): 5 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Titanium, Garnet, Zirconium, Beryllium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
(Facility) Laurel Hill Refinery	Copper, Gold, Nickel, Silver, Tellurium, Selenium, Palladium, Platinum	Plant
155th St & 10th Ave Garnet Deposit	Garnet, Zirconium	Occurrence
159th St & 11th Ave Beryl Deposit	Beryllium	Occurrence
176/178 Sts & 11th Ave Deposit	Titanium, Garnet, Gemstone	Occurrence
200th St & 10th Ave Kyanite Deposit	Kyanite	Occurrence
Hickory Lane Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	1890
Star Sand and Gravel Inc. Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
180th St & 10th Ave Rutile Deposit	Titanium	Occurrence

Every working recorded in Bronx County

Storms near this property

31 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bronx, the town this property stands in, in 31 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 4 hail, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
September 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	1 killed, 2 hurt	no account filed
June 2006	Lightning	Bronx	1 hurt	Lightning stuck a person at Crotona Park pool. Extent of injuries unknown.
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	1 hurt	no account filed
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	$12,500	Numerous trees and limbs were reported down throughout the Bronx.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	$1,000	Large tree branch down on Hoe Avenue in the Longwood section of the Bronx.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	Cross Bronx Expressway at Jerome Avenue closed in both directions due to flooding.
July 2022	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	All lanes blocked on the I-87 Major Deegan Expressway Northbound approaching Exit 8 - West 179th Street.
July 2022	Hail	Bronx	-	MPING report of 1 inch hail.
July 2014	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	All lanes were closed on the Cross Bronx Expressway at Jerome Ave. due to flooding. The northbound exit ramp to Jerome Ave. was also closed due to flooding.
July 2009	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	In the neighborhood of Morrisania in the Bronx, 3rd Ave. in the vicinity of the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital was closed due to flooding.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	Large Tree and limbs down on West 231st Street between Palisade and Independence Avenues.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	Flash Flooding of Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) Soutbound at 230th St (W).
October 2006	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	Heavy rain produced flash flooding along portions of the Bronx River Parkway and Bruckner Expressway in East Tremont.
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	A large tree was downed on Van Ness Street.
September 2004	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	Flash flooding on the Bronx River Parkway.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	As a severe thunderstorm moved east, it produced high winds that downed trees at the intersection of the Henry Hudson Parkway and West 247th Street.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	Police reported that strong winds knocked down several trees and power lines.
June 2002	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	Radio media reported widespread street flooding in the Bronx.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	New York City Office of Emergency Management reported a building collapse.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	Police reported that several trees were knocked down in the Bronx.
April 2007	Flood	Bronx	-	no account filed
August 2004	Hail	Bronx	-	no account filed
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	no account filed
August 2000	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	no account filed
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	no account filed
June 1998	Hail	Bronx	-	no account filed
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	no account filed
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Bronx	-	no account filed
November 1997	Hail	Bronx	-	no account filed
August 1996	Lightning	Bronx	-	no account filed
September 1996	Flash Flood	Bronx	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bronx County

Maps showing this location

15 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1891 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500
1897 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500 - 4 printings
1898 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500
1900 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500 - 16 printings
1947 USGS Yonkers quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1949 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1954 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1956 USGS Yonkers quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1957 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1958 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 3 printings
1960 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1966 USGS Yonkers quadrangle1:24000 - 3 printings
1969 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1984 USGS Long Island West quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
1998 USGS Yonkers quadrangle1:24000

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Frederick Van Cortlandt House	0.5 miles	1967
Fort Independence Historic District	0.5 miles	2016
Riverdale-Spuyten Duyvil-Kingsbridge Memorial Bell Tower	0.5 miles	2012
Riverdale Presbyterian Church Complex	0.7 miles	1982
Christ Church Complex	0.8 miles	1983
Jerome Park Reservoir	0.9 miles	2000

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 05000226 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Bronx County	All 91 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.