Story
Crosstown Crawl: Exploring the Past of East 14th Street
Let's take a tour along East 14th Street, one of the most vital arteries in New York City. At two miles long, 14th Street is Manhattan's longest cross street and is the southern-most street over 100 feet wide as laid out in the “Commissioners’ Plan,” which mapped the Manhattan grid in 1811. Known for its vibrant street life and commerce, 14th Street was also the first crosstown street to become a “busway” in October 2019, largely in response to the Canarsie Tunnel "L" train rehabilitation, which limited subway service between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Eagle Pencil Company
Now a Con Edison plant, this building at 712 E. 14th St. was the former location of the Eagle Pencil Company, site of a famous 1938 strike.
1
615 East 14th Street
Located between Avenues B and C, this building was photographed in 1917.
2
225 Avenue A
Photographed sometime around 1920, this corner housed the Pensacola Cafe, which advertised the famed Peter Doelger Beer.
3
Academy of Music (1867)
The Academy of Music was an opera house that was operated in its later years by movie mogul William Fox. You can see a poster advertising the John Barrymore silent drama "The Sea Beast."
4
Tammany Hall (1868)
This ca. 1920s photograph shows 135-151 E. 14th Street, and Tammany Hall, the Olympic Burlesque Theatre, the Central Hotel, and the Third Avenue Elevated in the background. The Third Avenue 'El' was the last of the elevated trains to be torn down; it ran in Manhattan through 1950. Its demolition anticipated the creation of the ‘Second Avenue’ subway line, which opened 57 years later, on January 1, 2017.
5
52 East 14th Street
This photo was snapped in March of 1927 and looks south, with the Grace Church spire in the distance and streetcar tracks in foreground.
6