The Third Avenue El: Through a Glass, Warmly

CERA Members Blog

I bought a clock a few years ago that supposedly came from a New York elevated station, and although there is no way to tell other than a resemblance to old photos, it pleases me to think this is so.

In a similar vein, last week, two pieces of stained glass that may be remnants of Manhattan’s old Third Avenue El sold for about $200 on eBay. Naturally, it’s hard to say for sure that’s where they came from, but they look exactly like stained glass shown in color photos of Third Avenue El stations. The seller says they came from a New York City resale shop. All this brought many things to mind.
Looking rather Marilyn Monroe-ish, a young woman checks her hair at a Third Avenue El station in the 1950s. (Photograph by Lothar Stelter)

These beautiful artifacts are at odds with the popular notion that the El…

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CERA Mailbag for August 3, 2014

CERA Members Blog

John F. Bromley writes:

You may be interested in this view I picked off the internet. ID’d as Madison Street circa 1910 but no cross-street given, but it’s by Hotel Brevoort so should be easy to determine, and of course the Loop is in the background.

Thanks… I am sure our eagle-eyed readers will come up with the right answer in short order. -Ed.

Cheers

Nathan Wells writes:

I was hoping you all could help me get the word out to support a campaign I am working on with some members of Charlotte Trolley to save a historic Dallas “Turtleback” streetcar.  McKinney Avenue Transit Authority no longer requires the car and must find a home for it before they clear a lot on which the car is stored.  The lot has been sold to a third party and everything must be cleaned by early September.

The “Turtleback” car we…

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John I don’t believe that’s the original wire on 33 Asbury