To spot Bedford Park Boulevard-Lehman College station, look for the elevated train platforms with rusty red canopies, green fencing, and yellow safety edges stretching above Bedford Park Boulevard-just follow the curve of the tracks and you can't miss the big EXIT signs pointing out.
Alright, explorer, here you are at the legendary Bedford Park Boulevard-Lehman College station, the end of our Bronx adventure and where subway stories practically echo off the steel. Picture yourself over a hundred years ago-this corner was buzzing with the excitement of big dreams and even bigger construction projects. The year is 1913, and the city leaders have just inked the Dual Contracts-a pair of deals so ambitious they needed not one but two different train companies to make it happen. Imagine the rumbling of carts, the shouts of workers, and the clang of steel beams layering the air as the Interborough Rapid Transit Company brought new hope for rapid transit straight up Jerome Avenue.
This station, originally dubbed the 200th Street stop, was renamed before it even opened-someone must have thought Bedford Park Boulevard had a little more flair. It first saw straphangers on a chilly April day in 1918, when it formed part of the final stretch of the Jerome Avenue Line extension to Woodlawn. The first riders would catch a shuttle train here, transferring at 167th Street, jittery with excitement that suddenly, places once considered distant felt just a short train hop away.
Now here’s a twist-while most of the Jerome Avenue Line runs high above that busy avenue, this station sits to the side, standing tall above Bedford Park Boulevard instead. It’s the single one north of 170th Street to do that, making it unique-kind of like that one cousin who insists on wearing sunglasses indoors.
Renovations have brought some modern sparkle. The platforms are edged with bold yellow tactile strips (just in case you daydream too hard about your next MetroCard refill). And the station house boasts cool “BPB” mosaics, a charming restroom sign, and-once upon a time-a barbed wire fence on the Manhattan-bound platform. Not for keeping out late-night raccoons, but to deter sneaky graffiti artists in the 1980s! That fence is gone now, so your selfies are safe.
Here’s a secret for you: during a short experiment in 2009, a handful of 4 trains dashed through here as express, toggling a switch on the express track just south of where you stand. It felt as if even the trains got impatient during morning rush hour.
As you glance around, don’t miss the brick-lined mezzanine or the stair rails guiding students toward Lehman College and science whizzes to Bronx High School of Science. Wander east and you’ll bump into the New York Botanical Garden, perfect for some post-tour nature therapy.
So, amidst the vibrations of this station’s past and present, you’re standing where New Yorkers have gathered, hustled, and hustled some more for over a century. I’d say that’s cause for a victory dance-or at least a grin about your subway savvy! Thanks for joining the journey, and next time you step on a 4 train, know a tale or two rides along with you.
