116 Street-Columbia University (1)

116 Street-Columbia University is a typical opening day IRT local station with the non-extension portion having high ceilings, and a bit of original wall frenzies still intact. The trim alternates between a typical circular looking blue 116 and the inner portion of the official seal of Columbia University (which apparently carries legal weight [Source]). These are on a green relief background. The name tablets have the ornate IRT boarder and simply say only Columbia University, no mention of 116 Street.

The stops main entrance is on a very low mezzanine towards the northern end of the platforms, there are two consecutive staircases that lead up from each platform to the two separate banks of turnstiles that have the token booth between them. These in turn lead to two street stairs right alongside each other, one couple on the NW corner of 116 Street and Broadway, the other couple directly across the street alongside Columbia's front gates (116 Street does not go all the way through).

On the extension portion of the uptown platform (towards the southern end of the platform) a few steps lead DOWN to two High Exit Turnstiles that lead up to a street stair midway down the block between 116 Street and 115 Street (although neither of those streets go all the way through because of Columbia's campus. The downtown platform lacks this exit but does have a newsstand situated towards its only exit.
Photos 1-3: December 23, 2005; 4-12: July 1, 2008; 13-27: June 3, 2011