Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue: the last stop on four subway lines

An eight-track elevated terminal, a Ferris wheel from 1920, a wooden coaster from 1927 and a hot dog stand from 1916, all within a few blocks of the end of the line.

October 8, 2026 · 2 min read

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue is the southern end of the D, F, N and Q trains, and the southernmost terminal in the New York subway. It is an elevated station with eight tracks and four island platforms, and Wikipedia calls it one of the largest elevated transportation terminals in the world. The F express also terminates here during peak-direction rush hours.

How it was built

The station came together in stages. The Sea Beach Line reached it on September 5, 1917, and the terminal was completed when the Culver Line arrived on May 1, 1920. A renovation reopened the terminal on May 23, 2004 and was finished on May 29, 2005, at a cost given as between $240 million and $300 million depending on the source. The station house has been restored with its terracotta facing, and the solar-panel roof is said to supply about 15 percent of the station's power. Hurricane Sandy flooded the station house in 2012.

The three rides you can see from the train

The Wonder Wheel was built in 1920 by Charles Hermann. It stands 150 feet high and is a designated New York City landmark, and 16 of its 32 cars slide along S-shaped tracks as the wheel turns, so they swing instead of hanging still.

The Cyclone opened in 1927 on Surf Avenue. It is a wooden roller coaster with an 85-foot first drop, one of the oldest operating coasters in the United States, and a National Historic Landmark. Luna Park, which opened on Surf Avenue in 2010, revived the name of an earlier amusement park that operated on the site from 1903 to 1946 and was known for its towers of electric light.

A hot dog stand with a contest

Nathan's Famous was founded in 1916 by Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant, and the original stand is at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, next to the station. It has hosted the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest every Fourth of July since the mid-20th century.

Riding to the end

If you want to ride the whole length of a line, this is the best place to finish. The D, F, N and Q all end here, and you can type your way along them in the game, starting with the N train or the Q train.

Sources

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station (Wikipedia)