Subway Construction Photograph Collection, 1900-1950

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Two, 1903-1921 (bulk 1904-1907); The 2,869 Contract Two photographs show the continuation of subway construction by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), connecting City Hall on the Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan to Atlantic Avenue on the Eastern Parkway Line in Brooklyn via the Joralemon Street Tunnel under the East River (the 4 and 5 lines). There are many photographs of buildings along Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights. Other photographs show the subway being constructed beneath the elevated tracks along major arteries such as Flatbush Avenue. These photographs also show the shopping districts of Downtown Brooklyn including major department stores. The photographs include views of completed station interiors in downtown Brooklyn before they were opened to the public.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Three. Route 12, 1914-1923; The 1,594 Contract Three, Route 12 photographs show construction by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) of the Eastern Parkway Line from Downtown Brooklyn along Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway to Crown Heights (the 2, 3 and 4). Section 1 starts at Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue and continues to St. Marks Avenue; Section 1A continues along Flatbush Avenue from Park Place to Eighth Avenue; Section 1B covers the area between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue; Section 2 goes from Plaza Street and Eastern Parkway to Nostrand Avenue; Section 3 continues along Eastern Parkway to Utica Avenue. Photographs include views of brownstones along St. Felix Street and Hanson Place near the Brooklyn Academy of Music; storefronts along Flatbush Avenue; Grand Army Plaza; the Prospect Park Reservoir located on the corner of Plaza Street and Eastern Parkway (where the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library now stands); and many views along Eastern Parkway.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Three. Route 29, 1914-1921; The 1,143 Contract Three, Route 29 photographs show construction by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) of the Nostrand Avenue Line between Crown Heights and Flatbush, Brooklyn (the 2 and 5). Section 1 runs along Nostrand Avenue from Eastern Parkway to Church Avenue; Section 2 continues along Nostrand Avenue to Flatbush Avenue. Views include the residential and commercial stretches of Nostrand Avenue. There are many storefronts and brownstones, and some wooden row houses and detached wood frame cottages.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Three. Route 31, 1916-1933; The 451 Contract Three, Route 31 photographs show the construction by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) of the New Lots Line or Livonia Avenue Line (the 3) in Brooklyn. The line runs from East 98th Street and Sutter Avenue to Livonia Avenue and New Lots Avenue. Most views are of the Livonia Avenue commercial district between Howard Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue in Brownsville, a Jewish neighborhood with many shop signs written in Yiddish. Construction of the elevated line resulted in a number of class action lawsuits between property owners and the City of New York because of the very close proximity between the elevated line and the storefronts. There are also many views of the future site and construction of the Livonia Yard, located south of New Lots Avenue between Hegeman and Lawrence Avenues and Elton and Linwood Streets. The area is mainly undeveloped plots of land with a few detached frame and carriage houses.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Three. Route 48, 1912-1924; The 1,809 Contract Three, Route 48 photographs show construction by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) of the Brooklyn Branch of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (the 2 and 3) from Park Place in Manhattan to Clark Street and Borough Hall in Brooklyn. Section 1 runs from Park Place under City Hall Park and along Beekman Street to William Street; Section 2 runs along William Street to Hanover Square; and Section 3 runs from Old Slip in Manhattan to Clark Street in Brooklyn, passing under the East River via the Clark Street Tunnel. Two lengthy series of photographs from 1919 and 1921 shows the interior of the Clark Street Tunnel at regular intervals.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 8, 1915-1932; The Contract Four, Route 8 photographs show the construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of the Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) from Manhattan into Brooklyn (the L). Section 1A follows West 14th Street from Eighth Avenue to Sixth Avenue; Section 2 runs along 14th Street from Sixth Avenue to First Avenue; Section 3 goes from Avenue D in Manhattan to Brooklyn at the foot of North 7th Street; Sections 4-5 run from North 7th Street across Metropolitan Avenue; and Sections 6-8 run along Bushwick Avenue into the Ridgewood section at Chauncey Street where the line runs next to Trinity Cemetery and Cemetery of the Evergreens. Photographs show children playing on the streets in Manhattan between First Avenue and Avenue C (where street signs reveal an Italian neighborhood), and in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 9-C-1, 1909-1921; The 574 Contract Four, Route 9-C-1 photographs show the construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of a portion of the Fourth Avenue Line (the N and R) in Brooklyn from Willoughby Street to Ashland Place along Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 11, 1909-1928; The 2,860 Contract Four, Route 11 photographs show the construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of a portion of the Fourth Avenue line from Flatbush Avenue and Fourth Avenue to 95th street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (the N and R). Section AE-1 encompasses Lafayette Avenue and Ashland Place and shows the excavation and construction of the areas around the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Section A-1 runs from Fourth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue to Sackett Street; Section A-2 runs from Fourth Avenue and Union Street to 4th Street; Section A-3 runs from 4th Street to 25th Street; Section A-4 runs from 26th Street to 41st Street; Section B-1 runs from 42nd Street to 61th Street; Section B-2 runs from 62nd Street to 86th Street; and Section B-3 goes from 87th Street to 95th Street. Most of the views are along Fourth Avenue, and include dramatic, bird's-eye shots of the excavation work that affected the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 33, 1914-1931; The 1,816 Contract Four, Route 33 photographs show the construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of the continuation of the Broadway Line from Manhattan into Brooklyn via the Montague Street Tunnel (the R), connecting to the Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn. Section 1 extends from Trinity Place and Morris Street to Broadway and Bowling Green, and then follows Whitehall Street to South Street in Manhattan; Section 2 extends from the foot of Whitehall Street in Manhattan via the Montague Street Tunnel under the East River to Montague Street between Henry Street and Clinton Street in Brooklyn; Section 3 runs under Montague Street, Fulton Street and Willoughby Street in Brooklyn to the junction with the Fourth Avenue Line at Flatbush Avenue Extension.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 39, 1913-1929; The 566 Contract Four, Route 39 photographs show construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of the West Side Line extension of the Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn from around 38th Street to Coney Island (the D). The connection from the Fourth Avenue subway required the reconstruction of a portion of the line between 33rd Street and 38th Street. Section 1 runs along Fourth Avenue to 38th Street, and along 38th Street to Tenth Avenue; Section 2 follows Tenth Avenue and New Utrecht Avenue from 39th Street to 86th Street, and then runs along 86th Street to Stillwell Avenue and Stillwell Avenue to Avenue Y and the Coney Island Yard, ending up at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue Station. A long sequence of photographs identified as "Job 467" show New Utrecht Avenue underneath the elevated tracks. This series also includes photographs documenting lawsuits by property owners along the elevated portion of the line.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Route 49, 1915-1941; The 377 Contract Four, Route 49 photographs show construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of the Culver Line from Tenth Avenue and 37th Street along Gravesend Avenue (now McDonald Avenue) to Coney Island in Brooklyn (the F). Section 1-A runs from west of Tenth Avenue between 37th Street and 38th Street to a point east of Tenth Avenue; Section 1 begins east of Tenth Avenue and follows a route parallel to 37th Street to Gravesend Avenue, and then continues south on Gravesend Avenue to south of Twenty-Second Avenue (now Bay Parkway); Section 2 follows Gravesend Avenue between Twenty-Second Avenue and Avenue X; and Section 3 runs between Shell Road and Avenue X and West 6th Street and Sheepshead Bay Road. The series also includes many photographs of the Coney Island Yard.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection. Contract Four. Manhattan Bridge Extension, 1909-1926; The 195 Contract Four, Manhattan Bridge Extension photographs show construction by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) of the Manhattan Bridge Branch of the Fourth Avenue Line along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn (the N and Q), including the former Myrtle Avenue Station, which was also known as the Gold Street Station.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection, Independent City Lines. Route 101, 1926-1944; The 2,992 Independent Subway System (IND) Route 101 photographs show construction on the Eighth Avenue Line (the A and C) from Greenwich Village south to Fulton Street in Manhattan, and into Brooklyn via the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River. Section 5 runs along Greenwich Avenue from Seventh Avenue and West 11th Street to Sixth Avenue; Section 4 follows Sixth Avenue from West 9th Street to Broome Street; Section 3 begins at Canal Street and runs along Church Street to Chambers Street; photographs captioned Sections “3 & 4” cover the area around Canal Street down West Broadway to Church Street and Barclay Street; and Section 1 runs along Fulton Street from Pearl Street to South Street, and continues into Brooklyn at the foot of Furman Street to High Street between Adams and Jay Streets; there are no Section 2 photographs. This route includes many views of Greenwich Village and, going south, buildings between Houston Street and Canal Street that were demolished to make way for the Sixth Avenue Extension and the new subway line. Other photographs include a large number of images of headstones in St. Paul’s Chapel churchyard. 88 of the Route 101 photographs are captioned Sections 8-11 and are views from West 32nd Street to West 53rd Street on the IND Sixth Avenue Line (the F), including images of the R.K.O. Building and Radio City Music Hall.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection, Independent City Lines. Route 103, 1929-1941; The Independent Subway System (IND) Route 103 photographs show construction of portions of the Sixth Avenue Line and the South Brooklyn-Park Slope Line from Manhattan into Brooklyn via the Rutgers Street tunnel under the East River (the F). Section 1 runs along Houston Street from Sixth Avenue to Mott Street; Section 2 follows Houston Street from Elizabeth Street to Ludlow Street; Section 3 runs down Essex Street to Canal Street and Rutgers Street; Section 4 covers the areas around the East River from Rutgers Slip to South Street in Manhattan, and from the piers at John Street along Jay Street in Brooklyn. There are many views of excavation and construction along Houston Street from the West Side to the East Side. There are several Italian specialty shops on West Houston Street. East Houston Street from Chrystie to Essex Streets reveals the large Jewish neighborhood of the Lower East Side. Photographs include vendors and crowds along Orchard Street and Houston Street, and many signs in Yiddish along Rivington Street. Other landmarks along Houston Street include the Puck building and the Sunshine Theatre. Other views include Seward Park, located between Hester Street and Canal Street.

: Subway Construction Photograph Collection, Independent City Lines. Route 107, 1927-1932; The 4,637 Independent Subway System (IND) Route 107 photographs show construction of the Crosstown Line (the G) from Smith Street in Brooklyn to Court Square in Queens. Section 5 runs along Schermerhorn Street from Smith Street to near Flatbush Avenue; Section 6 continues along Schermerhorn Street and then follows Lafayette Avenue through the area around the Brooklyn Academy of Music to South Portland Avenue; Section 8 goes along Lafayette Avenue from South Portland Avenue to Bedford Avenue; Section 9 continues along Lafayette Avenue, then up Marcy Avenue and Union Avenue to Broadway; Section 10 follows Union Avenue from Broadway through McCarren Park to Manhattan Avenue; Section 11 runs along Manhattan Avenue from Driggs Avenue to Green Street; Section 12 continues along Manhattan Avenue from Freeman Street in Brooklyn and then crosses Newtown Creek to Jackson Avenue in Queens; Section 13 covers a portion of Nott Avenue (now 44th Drive) and Jackson Avenue to Court Square in Queens.

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