The above photo is one of the older ones that we have found and must date to at least the late 1870's. The subject is that of the Harlem railroad of which only had a horse drawn trolley on 4th Avenue. A block east, on the third avenue side of East Harlem, the elevated trains would be constructed by 1879 but some folks prefered the languid comforts of the horse cars on 4th Avenue. What is also nice about the photo are the plain federal style buildings on the dirt path avenue advertising a saloon and artisan painters who were skilled in wood graining and marbling. We also discovered an old New York Times article from January 4th, 1879, listing the elevated train system as a failure. The article detailed complaints from citizens on the intrusion of the newly built tracks in the uptown neighborhood and how over crowding prevented folks from getting a train to their destination on time: LINK. Apparently rush hour was invented 100 years ago and little has changed since. Click on photo to enlarge.
There is one building on Park Ave by the School on 128th street(?) that still has the building stone that indicates 4th Ave before it was changed to Park Ave.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sankofa. I will have to check it out this week and maybe get a photo of it!
ReplyDeleteSome things never change, like the madness that is rush hour. Thanks so much for the history you provide. I continue to learn more than I ever knew (and probably took for granted) while growing up.
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