The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue Elevated, Third Avenue El, or Bronx El, was an
elevated railway
An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Originally operated by the New York Elevated Railway, an independent railway company, it was acquired by the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT w ...
(IRT) and eventually became part of the
New York City Subway system.
The first segment of the line, with service at most stations, opened from
South Ferry to
Grand Central Depot
Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same s ...
on August 26, 1878.
Service was extended to
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
in Manhattan on December 30.
In 1881 this line already began the 24/7 service. Service in Manhattan was phased out in the early 1950s and closed completely on May 12, 1955. The remaining service in the Bronx was designated as part of the
8 route until it was discontinued on April 29, 1973.
The Third Avenue El was the last elevated line to operate in Manhattan, other than the on the
IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the IRT Seventh Avenue Line or the IRT West Side Line) is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division, stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhatta ...
(which has elevated sections between 122nd and 135th Streets and north of
Dyckman Street
Dyckman Street ( ), occasionally called West 200th Street, is a street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is commonly considered to be a crosstown street because it runs from the Hudson River to the Harlem River and inter ...
), and was a frequent backdrop for movies. Service on the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
,
Sixth and
Ninth Avenue elevated lines were terminated in 1942, 1938, and 1940, respectively.
History
Operation
![Bowery and DoubleDeck Elevated, New York City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Bowery_and_DoubleDeck_Elevated%2C_New_York_City.png)
In 1875, the Rapid Transit Commission granted the New York Elevated Railway Company the right to construct the railway from
Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
to the
Harlem River
The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland.
The northern stretch, also called the Spuyte ...
along the
Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...
and
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
. At that time the company already operated the
Ninth Avenue Elevated, which it acquired in 1871 after the bankruptcy of the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway. The Third Avenue El opened in 1878, running from
South Ferry to
129th Street.
The
Manhattan Railway Company
The Manhattan Railway Company was an elevated railway company in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, United States. It operated four lines: the Second Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, Sixth Avenue Line, and Ninth Avenue Line.
History
19 ...
took control of the New York Elevated Railroad in 1879. In 1886, the Suburban Rapid Transit Company commenced operations with a railway line over the
Harlem River
The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland.
The northern stretch, also called the Spuyte ...
(via a double-decked
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
located between the
Third Avenue Bridge and
Willis Avenue Bridge
The Willis Avenue Bridge is a swing bridge that carries road traffic northbound (and bicycles and pedestrians both ways) over the Harlem River between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, United States. It connects First ...
with the upper deck carrying the express tracks, the lower one the local tracks, and a pedestrian walkway) from the Manhattan Railway's northern terminal at 129th Street to 133rd Street in the southern Bronx, known then as the "Annexed District".
The Manhattan Railway assumed operations of the Suburban in 1891 as an extension of the Third Avenue Line, and through service between the Bronx and Manhattan began in 1896. A 999-year lease of the Manhattan Railway was brokered by the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT w ...
in 1902, for which rapid transit services in the Bronx, of which the Third Avenue Line was a part, would eventually be coordinated alongside
the new subway. Around this time, the line was
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
.
As part of the
Dual Contracts
The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Ra ...
, this line was triple-tracked. The project, which caused minimal disruption to the line itself while works were ongoing, allowed for weekday peak direction express service and increased train capacity on the line. For New York City's transportation system, the project was "a more important engineering feat than the building of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
" according to the IRT. The center track of the Bronx portion opened on January 17, 1916; in Manhattan it was opened on July 9, 1917.
As of 1934, the following services were being operated:
* 3rd Avenue Local - South Ferry to 129th Street weekdays and Saturdays day and evenings, South Ferry to Bronx Park Sundays day and evenings, also between City Hall and Bronx Park weekdays AM and PM peak, also Saturdays AM peak. During late nights, a shuttle was operated between South Ferry and Canal Street connecting with trains from City Hall to Bronx Park.
* 3rd Avenue Thru-Express - City Hall to 241st St via White Plains Road Line weekday and Saturday AM peak northbound and weekday PM peak southbound, using the center express track south of Tremont Avenue. All other hours a shuttle operated between 241st Street and Fordham Road.
* 3rd Avenue Local-Express - City Hall to Bronx Park - weekdays and Saturdays day and evening, using the center express track south of 129th Street southbound until noon and northbound afternoon thru evening. Trains running in the opposite direction made all local stops.
In December 1937, some weekday midday and evening, Saturday midday thru evening local-expresses, and all Sunday and late-night locals were extended to 241st Street, replacing shuttles except northbound in the AM peak and southbound in the PM peak.
![94th Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/94th_Street._Station_of_the_Third_Avenue_8d22268v.jpg)
In 1943, Sunday evening local trains were rerouted to City Hall, with shuttles from Canal Street running to South Ferry. On November 5, 1946, service to Freeman Street was stopped, and all weekday and Saturday morning peak locals were routed to South Ferry. In 1947, Saturday service was further reduced. 129th Street local trains were eliminated, as were morning peak thru-expresses, which were changed to local-expresses. Saturday midday and evening local-expresses ran from South Ferry or City Hall to
Tremont Avenue–177th Street, and locals from South Ferry or City Hall to Bronx Park. On April 22, 1950, Saturday morning local-expresses were converted to locals. On April 30, 1950, all Sunday locals were routed to South Ferry, with a shuttle connection from Canal Street to City Hall. However, on December 22, the line from Chatham Square to South Ferry was closed, with all trains running to City Hall except weekday peak locals that ended at Chatham Square.
In addition, weekday peak service north of
Gun Hill Road was eliminated, as were weekday locals to 129th Street.
On March 14, 1952, service south of 149th Street was reduced to weekday daytime only, with Gun Hill Road to 149th Street locals at other times. On May 29, 1952, weekday midday local-expresses were eliminated. On June 26, 1952, thru-expresses were cut back to Gun Hill Road. On November 21, 1952, morning rush hour locals were cut back from Chatham Square to Canal Street, and PM rush hour locals were cut back from Fordham Road to 125th Street. However, this resulted in severe overcrowding, so local service to Fordham Road in the PM peak direction was resumed on December 3, 1952. On December 31, 1953, the Chatham Square to City Hall portion of the line was closed.
Service then consisted of local trains from Tremont Avenue or 129th Street and Canal Street in the weekday morning peak, Gun Hill Road and Chatham Square midday, and Chatham Square and 129th Street or Tremont Avenue in the PM peak. Local-expresses and thru-expresses operated between Gun Hill Road and Chatham Square southbound in the AM and northbound in the PM peak hours. Evening, all-night, and weekend service was Gun Hill Road to 149th Street locals. When the El was closed in Manhattan in 1955, the East Side was left with the overcrowded
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in Eas ...
as the only subway east of
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
.
Closures
![Third avenue el at 169th street bronx](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Third_avenue_el_at_169th_street_bronx.jpg)
In the 1930s and 1940s, as part of the integration of the different subway companies in New York City—the IRT along with
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit (BMT) and
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
(IND)—the Third Avenue elevated and its counterparts on
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
,
Sixth, and
Ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
Avenues came under criticism from New York mayor
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
and his successors. The elevateds were regarded as blights on their communities and obsolete, since the subways were being built or were planned to replace them.
The
IND Sixth Avenue Line
The IND Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south to Brooklyn. The B, D, F, and M trains, which use th ...
and the
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The IND Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway. Opened in 1932, it was the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND), and the ''Eighth Avenu ...
rendered the Sixth and Ninth Avenue elevateds obsolete, except for a small shuttle that served the
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
on the Ninth Avenue Line. They were closed by 1940 and demolished by 1941. The Second Avenue elevated was also gradually demolished from 1940 to 1942. When the Second Avenue elevated was closed on June 13, 1942, the weekday and Saturday Chatham Square to Freeman Street via the West Farms line service was rerouted via the Third Avenue Line, running express south of 129th Street. The Third Avenue elevated was kept open because it was intended to stay in use until the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
was built to replace it. Pressure against the elevated from real estate interests soon began, with the creation in 1941 of the Third Avenue Elevated Noise Abatement Committee, which consisted of what ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described as "men in the real estate business." The committee initially sought a decrease in train service, saying the noise from the elevated "constitutes a menace to health, comfort and peaceable home life."
The system was closed in sections from 1950 to 1973. First, the
South Ferry spur, which connected South Ferry to
Chatham Square
Chatham Square is a major intersection in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. The square lies at the confluence of eight streets: the Bowery, Doyers Street, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street and Park ...
, was closed on December 22, 1950. This permanently closed the South Ferry elevated station, which had previously served all four IRT elevated lines that originally ran in Manhattan.
Free transfers were provided to the
M13 bus to make up for the loss in service.
The Bronx Park terminal station was closed on November 14, 1951, with morning peak and midday locals thenceforth running to Gun Hill Road, and afternoon peak locals running to
Fordham Road
Fordham Road is a major thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, that runs west-east from the Harlem River to Bronx Park. Fordham Road houses the borough's largest and most diverse shopping district. It geographically separates the North Bron ...
. Morning peak local-express trains started at Fordham Road, while PM peak local-express trains were extended to Gun Hill Road.
On March 14, 1952, evening, nightime and weekend and holiday service was discontinued south of 149th Street.
Next to close was the
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
spur in 1953, which started at
Park Row in Manhattan and then connected with the South Ferry spur at Chatham Square.
On May 12, 1955, the main portion of the line closed from Chatham Square to East 149th Street in the Bronx, ending the operation of elevated service in Manhattan.
The removal was a catalyst in a wave of new construction, adding
property value
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property (usually market value). Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every pr ...
s on the East Side, while bringing increased isolation and hastened decline throughout much of the Bronx. The head of the
Real Estate Board of New York suggested that Third Avenue be renamed "
the Bouwerie" to symbolize the transformation.
In 1967, the remaining service in the Bronx was formally given the
8 route designation.
However, the 8 bullet was only marked on maps and station signs; cars always displayed SHUTTLE and the terminal destination.
Under the MTA's 1968
Program for Action
Metropolitan Transportation: A Program for Action, also known as simply the Program for Action, the Grand Design, or the New Routes Program, was a proposal in the mid-1960s for a large expansion of mass transit in New York City, created under t ...
, plans were made for demolition of the remaining line as part of the city's effort to remove "obsolete elevated railway structures", which also saw the razing of portions of the
BMT Jamaica elevated in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
.
It was to be replaced with a parallel line along the
Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut D ...
Harlem Line
The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southea ...
's right-of-way, part of the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
plan.
Local residents and business owners also sought similar revival seen following the closure of the line's sections in Manhattan.
The remaining portion in the Bronx from East 149th Street to Gun Hill Road finally closed on April 29, 1973
and demolition started on March 9, 1977. Demolition was completed by the end of 1977, along with the condemned portion of the Jamaica Line.
Work on the planned
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
was suspended, due to the
1970s fiscal crisis.
In the Bronx, the Third Avenue el was replaced by the Bx55 bus making only the stops the train made. This bus route was one of the first to have free transfers to and from the subway, with the three transfer points at the
Third Avenue–149th Street and Gun Hill Road
IRT White Plains Road Line
The White Plains Road Line is a rapid transit line of the A Division of the New York City Subway serving the central Bronx. It is mostly elevated and served both subway and elevated trains until 1952. The original part of the line, the part op ...
stations, and the
161st Street–Yankee Stadium station.
The other two bus-subway transfers were from the B35 and B42 in Brooklyn, which replaced the
BMT Culver Line
The IND Culver Line (formerly BMT Culver Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the C ...
and
BMT Canarsie Line
The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is served by the ...
, respectively. With the introduction of free bus to subway transfers systemwide in the 1990s, the three routes lost their special status, although the B42 terminates in a loop inside fare control at Rockaway Parkway.
In 2013, the Bx55 was eliminated with the introduction of the
Bx41 Select Bus Service. It was partially replaced by the Bx41 SBS and the
Bx15 Limited, which runs to
West Harlem via
125th Street, but does not extend past Fordham Plaza to Gun Hill Road.
[
]
Station listing
Notes and references
Notes
References
"Crossings on Elevated Roads"
''The New York Times'', March 14, 1879, page 8.
''3rd AVE. EL''
An ARDEE FILMS Release (ca. 1950s Public Domain) Associate Producer HELENA SAND ; Produced and Directed by CARSON DAVIDSON - filmed prior to Closure of the South Ferry spur December 22, 1950.
Further reading
* Stelter, Lawrence, and Lother Stelter (1995). ''By the El: Third Avenue and Its El at Mid-Century''. Flushing, NY: H&M Productions. .
External links
Remembering the Third Avenue El, MTA.info
*
archive.org - The Third Avenue El (ca.1950s)
- Bronx 3rd Avenue El (1900-1973)
Gotham Center - The Rise and Decline of New York City's Third Avenue Elevated Train Line
*
1953 Vivian Maier photo by 59th St station, view southwards towards Chrysler Building
Warner Pathé Newsreel: "The End of the El"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irt Third Avenue Line
3rd Avenue
3rd Avenue
Railway lines opened in 1878
Railway lines closed in 1973
Historic American Engineering Record in New York City
1878 establishments in New York (state)
1973 disestablishments in New York (state)
History of the Bronx
Transportation in the Bronx
Third Avenue