The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad was a

street railway A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

company in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It owned and operated a system in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

, and became part of the

Metropolitan Street Railway The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which all of its rem ...

History

The Avenue C Railroad was chartered June 3, 1874 (or December 18, 1868 ), and its original line, the

Avenue C Line The M9 is a local bus route that operates along the Avenue C Line (also known as the Houston Street Line), in Manhattan, New York City. The M9 and M21 are operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the MaBSTOA division and based out of the ...

from the Green Point Ferry at the foot of East 10th Street mainly along Avenue C,

Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson ...

, and

West Street The Joe DiMaggio Highway, commonly called the West Side Highway and formerly the Miller Highway, is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A (NY 9A), running from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern ...

to the

Pavonia Ferry The Pavonia Ferry was a ferry service on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, operating between New York City and Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It was launched in 1854. It was sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for ...

at the foot of

Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway station ...

, opened on October 18, 1869. By 1879, it had extended its line north on Avenue C from 10th Street, west on 17th Street and 18th Street, north over the Central Park, North and East River Railroad (First Avenue and East Belt Line) on Avenue A, 23rd Street, and 1st Avenue, west on 35th Street and 36th Street, north on

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...

, and west on

42nd Street 42nd Street most commonly refers to: *42nd Street (Manhattan), a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan It may also refer to: *42nd Street (film), ''42nd Street'' (film), a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film with lyri ...

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

. The

Third Avenue Railroad The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), founded 1852, was a streetcar system serving the New York City Borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx along with lower Westchester County. For a brief period of time, TARS also oper ...

also used the trackage on 42nd Street by 1884.

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Street Car Lines at Law
September 9, 1884 On June 3, 1874, it was merged with the Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad to form the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad. It began leasing other lines in 1892: * Sixth Avenue Railroad, February 1, 1892 *

Ninth Avenue Railroad The Ninth and Tenth Avenues Line or Ninth Avenue Line is a surface transit line in the New York City borough of Manhattan, running mostly along Ninth Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Manhattanville. Originally a streetcar l ...

, April 12, 1892 *Central Park, North and East River Railroad, October 14, 1892 (also leased to the Metropolitan Crosstown Railway at the same time) *

Twenty-Third Street Railway The 23rd Street Crosstown is a surface transit line on 23rd Street in Manhattan, New York City. It currently hosts the M23 SBS bus route of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Regional Bus Operations. The M23 runs between Chels ...

, April 25, 1893 **

Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad Bleecker is a Dutch-language occupational surname. Bleecker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher"). Most if not all people listed below are descendants of Jan Jansen Bleecker/Bleeker, who came to New Amsterdam in 1658. In the Ne ...

, leased to the 23rd Street Railway January 10, 1876 *Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad, June 30, 1893 **

Broadway Surface Railroad The M5 and M55 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor in Manhattan, New York City, running along the Fifth / Sixth Avenues / Riverside Drive Line as well as the southern portion of the Broadway Line after the discontinuation ...

, leased to the Broadway and 7th Avenue Railroad in 1889 *South Ferry Railroad, June 30, 1893 On December 12, 1893, the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad was merged (with the

and

South Ferry Railroad South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

) into the

. The properties were leased to the Interurban Street Railway in 1902, renamed the

New York City Railway The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which all of its rem ...

in 1904. The Metropolitan Street Railway became independent in 1908; the Central Park, North and East River Railroad was separated (and later acquired by the

Third Avenue Railway The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), founded 1852, was a streetcar system serving the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx along with lower Westchester County. For a brief period of time, TARS also operated the Steinway Lines i ...

), while the other companies stayed with it.

Lines

The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad operated the following lines: *First Avenue and East Belt Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad * Sixth Avenue Line, from the South Ferry Railroad and Sixth Avenue Railroad * Seventh Avenue Line and Broadway Line from the

and Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad * Ninth Avenue Line, from the

*West Belt Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad *

Bleecker Street Line The Bleecker Street Line was a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Bleecker Street, Crosby Street, and Lafayette Street from the West 14th Street Ferry in Chelsea to the Fulton Ferry in the F ...

, from the

, its original line * 23rd Street Crosstown Line, from the

*59th Street Crosstown Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston West Street Pavonia Ferry Railroad Streetcar lines in Manhattan Defunct New York (state) railroads

History

Lines

See also

References