Sunday, October 12, 2008

Then and Now: 5th Avenue and 36th Street

I love this photo. It was taken on September 4th, 1916 and looks at the southeast corner of 36th Street and 5th Avenue.

According to Tony, my guru of historical photos of Sunset Park, the building used to be a railroad storage yard, trolley barn, and repair shop. You can see the elevated railroad along 5th Avenue (who knew?!) on the right side of the photograph. The railroad split less than a block farther down 5th Avenue. The left turn-off went towards Coney Island on the Culver line, and the right turn-off went along 3rd Avenue to 65th Street, the last stop.


Today it's the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot; it's the same idea with a different application. The Green-Wood Cemetery's wrought iron fence now cages in the opposite corner. Obviously, the elevated railroad is gone. The building is less than aesthetically pleasing, and I'm partial to the brick and windows of 1916. Now you have to go down to the East River to see anything reasonably similar. Enjoy.

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