The 17th and 18th Streets Crosstown Line was a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

line 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, running mostly along 14th Street, 17th Street, and

18th Street 18th Street may refer to: Los Angeles * 18th Street gang, an Hispanic street gang Manhattan, New York City * 18th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line); a subway station serving the trains * 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line), an ...

from the West 14th Street Ferry in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Christopher Street Ferry Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to th ...

to the East 23rd Street Ferry at

Peter Cooper Village Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. It was not replaced with a trolley line or

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

when it was abandoned in 1913.

History

The Central Crosstown Railroad was chartered March 28, 1873, and opened within a few years. The original line began at the

and ran north on

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 t ...

(west of the Central Park, North and East River trackage), northeast on 11th Street, north on 7th Avenue (along Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad trackage), east on 14th Street to

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, north on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

(also Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad trackage), east on 17th Street (eastbound) and

(westbound), north on 1st Avenue (

Central Park, North and East River Railroad Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

trackage), and east on 23rd Street. Another line opened later, continuing west on 14th Street, including

Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad 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 Finan ...

trackage west of 9th Avenue. The company leased the

Christopher and Tenth Street Railroad The Eighth and Ninth Streets Crosstown is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along Eighth Street (Manhattan), Eighth Street, Ninth Street (Manhattan), Ninth Street, 10th Street (Manhattan), Tenth Street, and Christ ...

, which also ran east from the Christopher Street Ferry, on May 28, 1890, and the Central Crosstown was acquired by the

Metropolitan Street Railway The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, United States 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 a ...

in May 1897, though not leased until February 8, 1904. By 1907, the line to the Christopher Street Ferry was gone, and the

14th Street-Williamsburg Bridge Line 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number ...

used the 14th Street trackage west of

. Instead, 17th and 18th Streets cars continued south from Union Square on University Place on a remnant of the original Broadway Line, ending at 8th Street. Service was terminated in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:17th And 18th Streets Crosstown Line Crosstown 017 Railway lines opened in 1873 Railway lines closed in 1913