This station opened on June 12, 1905, as a one-stop extension of the original subway from Fulton Street. On January 6, 1994, Automated Fare Collection turnstiles went into service at this station, and at the Whitehall Street station. 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 IRTLexington Avenue Line station would have been closed.
Station layout
Wall Street is an underground, two-tracked station, with two side platforms that are slightly offset from one another. The standard IRT name tablet mosaics are original as well as the fancy ceiling accents and the iron pillars. On the southbound platform are a disused wooden token booth, wooden restroom doors, and an antique wooden ticket chopper. The walls on the platforms are clad in pink stone at the bottom, followed by white tiles, the name of the station in white letters and blue mosaics, and a terracottafrieze featuring a New Amsterdamstep-gabled house with the palisade wall in front of it which gave Wall Street its name. There are crossunders near the north and south ends of the southbound platform; because of the platform offset, the latter is nearer the middle of the northbound platform. Also on the platforms are Lariat Tapers, which are bronze loops attached to the columns to serve as seating. These were designed by James Garvey in 2011, as a follow-up to 1997's Lariat Seat Loops at 33rd Street.
Exits
On the southbound side, which is the west side of Broadway, street exits are built into the facade of 71 Broadway, south of Rector Street, one on either side of the main entrance. North of Rector Street there are two staircases in front of the Trinity Churchyard fence, each with a faux kiosk, or canopy. At the north end of the station a street exit is built into the side of 111 Broadway. It has an opulent brass-toned banner proclaiming "Subway Entrance" atop the entrance, which is half a flight below ground. The exit also has a Subway restaurant outside fare control. On the northbound side, three staircases lead to the east side of Broadway near Rector Street. The north end of the platform leads to a tunnel which connects on the left to a crossunder, and on the right to a passageway exiting fare control and continuing to a street staircase at Cedar and Nassau Streets, and to a connection to the Broad Street station on the BMT Nassau Street Line.
Renovation
The original white tiles from the early 20th century were walled over with glossy dark blue tiles in the 1970s, with only the name of station allowed to stay. Similar remodeling work was done during that time with 51st Street station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, using beige tiles. In 2006, a project to renovate/restore the station back to its original appearance began. As of May 2006, the blue tiles mentioned above had been removed and remnants of the original white tile-work exposed. The condition of the original tiles was fair to poor to completely missing. All missing tiles were refitted based on original models.
