bluelinec4 posted:Third ave el
Third ave el construction Not sure where
Hello Ben ---
I just HAVE to (heh !) correct your captions on these photos ABOVE found on / from your posting -- with copies BELOW of my own same photos. By the way, the photographer of the 5th (last) photo on your posting (its the 2nd one seen here ABOVE) is a personal friend of mine, Sid Kaplan, and Sid gave me copies of all of his 3rd Ave EL 8-1955 to 2-1956 ALL DEMOLITION PHOTOS photos for my collection..including the 5th (last one) one on your posting.
The upper top-most (also the 2nd seen on your message) - photo ABOVE here - being a duplicate of the original copy in my collection - is NOT the THIRD AVENUE EL -!!!
Here BELOW is my similar full (non cropped) copy from my large 2nd Ave EL Photos Collection -
It IS looking north in 1939 from the north end of the Northbound E.34th Street Local station platform ON the SECOND AVENUE EL -- with a Southbound (of ex-1904 subway cars) Composite 3-car local train passing an uptown local of IRT EL MUDC Cars. In the distance is seen the twin island platforms of the E.42nd Street Express Station. The NY Daily News building is the tall one behind the first Composite Car, with the taller Chrysler Building at the far left
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The 5th, last photo on your posting, IS NOT the "Third Avenue EL ' Construction ' " !!
Here BELOW is my original copy of that image, from Sid to me. Taken in early October 1955, it IS the DEMOLITION and REMOVAL of the Third Avenue EL !!. The photo location IS looking south east towards the east side of 3rd Avenue from a rooftop on the west side of the Avenue from the S/W corner of E. 78th Street and 3rd Avenue, ,with East 77th Street seen at center, and the Northbound E.76th Street Local Station of the EL partially demolished. You can also see the solid plate girders of the 1915 added center express track as contrasting to the original as built 1877 Lattice girders of the both local tracks.
BELOW is an additional photo from Sid to me at this same location and early October 1955 date... but closer angled to East 78th Street which is where the lamp post is seen at the SW corner of 3rd & E.78th Street. And to think I walked those streets back then and saw it all...a lifetime ago !
BELOW is a street level view from 2011 of the same view as the photo just above this one
As of this writing the entire east side of 3rd Avenue from E. 77th Street south to E. 74th Street, remains intact as it was in the above older 1955 photos, is some a bit "modernized" a bit.
Well, that should correct things Ben, I presume you are enjoying your subway motorman career -- I fear you may be inhaling a bit too much subway ozone fumes, uremic fumes and brake dust, heh -- but otherwise I hope and expect you are OK and doing well !@!
Regards - Joe F
