Construction and opening After the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s
original line opened as far as
Atlantic Avenue in
Brooklyn, the New York City government began planning new lines. As early as 1903,
William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, had proposed constructing a four-track extension of the IRT line under Flatbush Avenue, running southeast from Atlantic Avenue to
Grand Army Plaza. From there, two branches would have extended south to
Flatbush and east to
Brownsville. This plan did not progress for a decade due to various disputes over the original subway. In 1913, New York City, the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), and the IRT reached an agreement, known as the
Dual Contracts, to drastically expand subway service across New York City. As part of the Dual Contracts, two lines under Flatbush Avenue, one each operated by the BRT and IRT, were approved. while the BRT would construct a parallel two-track extension of the
Brighton Line. Groundbreaking for the IRT extension took place on May 23, 1914. The Institute Park station, as the Brooklyn Museum station was originally known, was to be one of the stations on the IRT extension. As a result, plans for the line were changed in October 1914. Under the revised plan, the four-track tunnel under Eastern Parkway was to be double-decked, except at the
Franklin Avenue station, where all tracks would be on the same level. In April 1915, nineteen companies submitted bids to construct the section of line between
Grand Army Plaza and
Nostrand Avenue, including the Institute Park, Franklin Avenue, and
Nostrand Avenue stations. The low bidder for this contract was the Inter-Continental Company. which bid $2.7 million; the contract was confirmed that May. The tunnel between Grand Army Plaza and Nostrand Avenue was built using the
cut-and-cover method, with two steam shovels excavating an estimated . Dirt from the excavation of the tunnel was used to infill the old
Brighton Beach Race Course. Just before the Institute Park station was to open, the IRT received a petition from Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to change the name of the station to "Brooklyn Museum" to provide an adequate guide for the station's location. As a result, an order was issued on March 3, 1920, changing the name of the station to "Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum". New signs and tiles had to be installed while the station finish work was already underway. Service on the
IRT Eastern Parkway Line had been extended from
Atlantic Avenue to
Utica Avenue in August 1920, but the
Bergen Street,
Grand Army Plaza, and Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum stations were not ready to open with the rest of the line. The contractor responsible for completing the three stations had gone bankrupt in the middle of the project.
Later years During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Eastern Parkway, along with those at four other stations on the Eastern Parkway Line, were lengthened to 525 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 51-foot IRT cars. In 1981, the MTA announced the creation of its Culture Stations program to install public art in the subway. The Culture Stations program was started to deter graffiti, and was inspired by legislation in the
New York City Council that mandated that 1% of the cost of constructing public buildings be used for art. The program was modeled on the
Louvre – Rivoli station on the
Paris Métro, which featured reproductions of the artwork on display in the Louvre. Four stations, namely Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum,
Astor Place,
66th Street–Lincoln Center, and
Fifth Avenue/53rd Street, were selected for the program due to their proximity to cultural institutions. Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations. The Eastern Parkway and 66th Street stations had still not been renovated by 1986, even though the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street projects had been completed by then. In 2002, it was announced that Eastern Parkway would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations. The station subsequently underwent a renovation that lasted between 13 and 15 months; the project was expedited in advance of the museum's anniversary. The project, finished in April 2004, cost $12 million to $14 million to complete. which were installed within the station. A contract for the elevators' construction was awarded in August 2018. Substantial completion was projected for October 2020, but the elevators opened two months later. Designed by Urbahn Architects and constructed by Gramercy Group, the project cost $25.8 million and included three elevators and a rebuilt staircase. == Station layout ==