[5] The tunnel south of City Hall was rebuilt to bring the upper local tracks down to the lower level north of Vesey Street, and the lower level at City Hall was never used for passenger service, instead being used for train storage.

There is an active tower at the north end, with a window that lets any waiting passengers observe Transit Authority goings-on.

Before the new City Hall master tower was built, there was a provision at the north end of the upper level for a diamond crossover (which has existed since the construction of this station, when the upper level platform was to be a terminal) which is now occupied by a relay room.

Passengers enter from the sidewalk adjacent to City Hall Park directly onto the wide island platform on the upper level.

[16] An exit at the south end of the platform led to the Woolworth Building, but this was closed in 1982 due to concerns over crime.

As a result, the lower level of the station is unused (except for non-rush hour storage of trains), as are the stub-end center express tracks at Canal Street on its upper level (the connections to which were instead "temporarily" rerouted to the Manhattan Bridge for service across that bridge).

[18] The lower level is only long enough to store 480-foot-long (150 m) 8-car trains, with cars of 60 feet (18 m) lengths, like the platforms in the BMT Eastern Division.

[20] In Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro's novel The Strain, it is by trekking through the disused City Hall station's lower levels that Dr. Goodweather, Setrakian and Fet find their way towards the Master's lair.

In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) one of the final scenes is located in the 1920‘s subway station.