1930, whereas every other station on the line had at least one million passengers. After the Long Island Rail Road closed its Whitestone Branch to the neighborhood of Whitestone in early 1932, there were proposals to connect the branch with the subway at the Willets Point Boulevard station, but this did not happen. 20th-century modifications 1939 World's Fair The site just south of the Willets Point Boulevard station was remodeled into Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in advance of the 1939 New York World's Fair. In December 1936, the IRT announced plans to expand the Willets Point Boulevard station to accommodate additional crowds for the World's Fair. The station would contain three platforms and four tracks, capable of serving 40 trains per hour in each direction. Expansion of the Willets Point Boulevard station, as well as the construction of an Independent Subway System (IND) line to a planned World's Fair station nearby, was seen as essential for World's Fair access. In January 1937, the World's Fair Corporation presented plans for the Willets Point Boulevard station's expansion to the New York City Board of Estimate, which voted to provide $650,000 for the project. The Manhattan Railway Company, which operated the IRT's elevated lines, opposed the planned expansion because it would put the IRT and IND in direct competition, but a federal judge ruled that the project could proceed. Work on an overpass between the Willets Point Boulevard station and Flushing Meadows Park commenced in late 1937. Ramps and stairs were built from each platform to the overpass, where 16 turnstiles and a canopy were installed. Construction on the station itself began in January 1938, at which point the project had a budget of $494,000. The station had been revised to three tracks and three platforms. The center track and platform would be served by express trains that terminated at Willets Point Boulevard, while the outer two tracks would be used by local trains to Main Street. The IRT installed signals on the express track, which had previously been used as a storage track, and it built a power substation to allow for more frequent service. The IRT bought 50 World's Fair Lo-V subway cars in conjunction with these upgrades. World's Fair Special express trains began service on April 24, 1939. The fair opened on April 30, and 110,689 people entered the station on that day alone. 1940s and 1950s The city government took