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| Re: Lexington Ave. el & Pratt Institute campus (1111023) | |||
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Re: Lexington Ave. el & Pratt Institute campus |
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Posted by MELLOW ONE on Thu Oct 20 21:42:22 2011, in response to Re: Lexington Ave. el & Pratt Institute campus, posted by Elkeeper on Thu Oct 20 17:37:41 2011. The Lexington Ave El was the remainder of the first Brooklyn Elevated RR, that was known as The Park St Elevated, that started from the Fulton Ferry on the East River, under the Brooklyn Bridge in 1885. Does anyone have the announcement date of the line and the subsequent start of costruction? We know that it opened in 1885 and the route went from Fulton Ferry along the North wall of the Brooklyn Bridge (I have to look up the name of that street) to York St, out York St to turn onto Hudson St, Hudson St to turn onto Park St, out Park St to turn onto Grand Ave, down Grand Ave to Lexington Ave, Lexington Ave out to Broadway, then out Broadway to East NY.The route was probably selected because none of the streets of the route had horse cars running on them, except for Broadway. Three years later, the Myrtle Ave El opened to Grand Ave, where it joined the Old Main Line, as the Park St El was called then. Construction of the Myrtle Ave El probably started not long after the Park St El opened. The Broadway El to Driggs Ave and Broadway Ferry opened in 1888 and the 5th Ave El opened on an extension of the Old Main Line on Hudson St to Flatbush and Atlantic Ave, The LIRR Terminal. There was a lot of elevated railway construction going on in 1887 and 1888 in Brooklyn. Two years later in 1890 the Park St El section of the Old Main Line was closed and removed between Hudson St and Myrtle Ave. That part of the line became redundant because of the Myrtle Ave El was only one block away and was a better and improved structure over the Park St structure. However, the Lexington Ave section continued on through electrification until 1950 because it was the link to the Broadway El East until the connection to the Myrtle Ave El was opened in 1916. That connection went from the Broadway El to the Myrtle East and from the Myrtle to the Broadway El West. The lower part of the Myrtle and Lexington Ave Els were never improved or expanded during the Dual Contract Era except for the improved Broadway Subway connection to the improved outer section of the Myrtle Ave El. The Lexington El structure was built for two tracks beause Grand and Lexington Avenues were narrow streets. The Myrtle Ave El provided that essential link to Downtown Brooklyn which was not otherwise duplicated by the Subway Lines from the Northeastern part of Brooklyn. The Lexington Ave El filled in the gap to the Southeast. I do not believe that there was any clamor to take down the Lex except for the TA people after WWII, possibly becaue of its age. I do not believe that there was ever any replacement for it planned or proposed either. There was a considerable amount neighborhood clearance and rebuilding that occurred before and after WWII and into the 60's that sholuld have relied upon rapid transit. However, the lower Myrtle was not improved and the Lex was removed in 1951. So much for the powers that be for providing good rapid transit to an area or neighborhood that was being redeveloped. It has been over 60 years after the Lex was removed and almost 50 years since the lower Myrtle was removed. Although, we wax nostalgic about the Els, they were a very utilitarian and deserved to be retained and upgraded or replaced to maintain the rapid transit utility. |
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