Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Late-afternoon 1936 break



Here we are looking south on First Avenue from the East 14th Street El Station circa 1936 ... via EVG Facebook friend Michael Paul

It was actually the IRT Second Avenue Line ... From Houston Street, the line went north on First Avenue, where it turned left on 23rd Street ... and ran north on Second Avenue to 129th Street, per Wikipedia.



Per Wikipedia Commons: "The Second Avenue El, looking south on First Avenue from 13th Street during its demolition in September 1942."
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13 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    Great photos. Thanks for sharing them!

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  2. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 6:29 PM

    The city, and its inhabitants, certainly looked much better then.

    - East Villager

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  3. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 6:30 PM

    This must have mad such a difference in regards to light (increase) and noise (decrease) for those living along 1st Ave. I wonder if the El trains in Queens will ever be taken down like this?

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  4. RichardNovember 13, 2013 at 7:08 PM

    I find photos like these endlessly fascinating. Whenever I walk on a street where the El once ran, I can't help trying to envision what it would have looked like. It just doesn't seem right that something so huge and so intertwined with the city could disappear so completely...and yet, to walk along these routes today there are no signs it ever existed.

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  5. VH McKenzieNovember 13, 2013 at 8:15 PM

    I love these photos, thank you EV.

    And loving the real men wearing fedoras without irony!

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  6. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 9:18 PM

    New trendy speakeasy bar/lounge/resto to open soon, The Second Avenue El, an homage to 1930's with the bar stools, and tables made up of the steel from the second ave. el.

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  7. AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 11:17 PM

    And to think in 2063 it "might" be under 2nd Ave! Very cool pics Grieve.

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  8. AnonymousNovember 14, 2013 at 7:18 AM

    I wonder if there were any intrepid young journalists back then mourning the loss of such things ... EL Grieve, perhaps.

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  9. AnonymousNovember 14, 2013 at 7:47 AM

    Laugh 9:18, but someone probably just started a Kickstarter campaign to get that ball rolling!

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  10. AnonymousNovember 14, 2013 at 8:55 AM

    It's inspiring to see the demolition of this structure, knowing how easy it will be for the City to remove all the bike lanes.

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  11. GojiraNovember 14, 2013 at 10:03 AM

    @Anon. 8:55 - Ha ha ha haaa! What you said!

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  12. AnonymousNovember 14, 2013 at 3:12 PM

    Speaking of this corner - has anyone noticed that the traffic light pattern has changed without warning - so that the E side has a delayed Walk now too? People are getting nearly killed!

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  13. AnonymousNovember 14, 2013 at 4:49 PM

    6:29,

    I've been thinking about your comment all day today (I'm a bit OCD). In what way do the inhabitants look better then as opposed to now?

    Since we can't see their faces, I can only guess it is because either the men are all wearing suits OR everyone appears to be white.

    I'm hoping that it isn't the latter, so you would like more suits in the neighborhood?

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