Beach 98th Street (IND Rockaway Line)

Beach 98th Street, sometimes referred as Beach 98th Street – Playland, is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway. The station is built on a concrete viaduct. New lights have been installed. There is a crossunder to the tile mezzanine. The station was originally built by the Long Island Rail Road in April 1903 as Steeplechase on the Rockaway Beach Branch, and was also a trolley stop of the Ocean Electric Railway. It was renamed "Playland" on May 15, 1933, for the former Rockaways' Playland, which was closed in the mid-1980s. No trace of the park remains other than the station name. In 1942, the station was replaced with an elevated station, and was taken out of service on October 3, 1955 as part of its transfer to the New York City Transit Authority, which reopened on June 28, 1956. The southbound platform is longer that the northbound one, and has an extra exit at the north end which is now sealed. Canopies, mezzanine, and side walls are similar to Beach 90th Street.