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Brooklyn Crossings: Subway Construction in Downtown Brooklyn
In the opening decades of the 20th Century, the proliferation of new subway lines in Brooklyn changed the shape of Brooklyn's busiest intersections; new routes were excavated and transit hubs born, replacing the streetcars and elevated railways of years past.
This collection includes a selection of photographs documenting subway construction in and around Times Plaza, Flatbush Avenue, and Ashland Place.
Smith and Schermerhorn Streets
Excavation for the Hoyt—Schermerhorn Streets station (present day A/C/G), 1929.
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Bridge and Fulton Streets
Street decking at excavation for the Hoyt Street—Bridge Street station (present-day 2/3), 1907.
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DeKalb Avenue Station, BMT Brighton and Fourth Avenue Lines
BMT construction at DeKalb Avenue, 1919.
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395 Flatbush Avenue Extension
Partially dismantled Fulton El trestle, crossing Flatbush Avenue Extension, 1941.
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Fifth Avenue El at Fulton Street
Fifth Avenue Elevated tracks, above Flatbush Avenue, 1941.
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Ashland Place
Cyanotype of Ashland Place, prior to excavation for the BMT Fourth Avenue Line tracks, 1910.
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Ashland Place
Ashland Place during BMT construction, 1911.
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Lafayette Avenue and Ashland Place
Ashland Place excavation in the foreground, with the Fulton Street El visible in the background, 1911.
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St. Felix Street and Hanson Place
The aftermath of a subway construction cave-in, 1917.
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Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue
Elevated tracks, streetcar lines, and subway excavation — all along Fulton Street, 1907.
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520 Fourth Avenue
A worker poses with a concrete siphon on Fourth Avenue in Gowanus, 1915.
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