Lenox Avenue Line (surface)

The Lenox Avenue Line is a surface transit line on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, United States. The line was once operated separately, but later became the northern end of the Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line and Broadway and Lexington Avenue Line, now the M7 and M102 bus routes.

History

The franchise given to the Sixth Avenue Railroad by the city in 1851 specified that it should extend its tracks "up the Sixth avenue to Harlem River, whenever required by the Common Council".Common Council resolutions relating to the Sixth Avenue Railroad, reproduced in [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02694036&id=HdVbGMuSqhwC A Compilation of the Ferry Leases and Railroad Grants Made by the Corporation of the City of New York] , 1860, pages 267 to 285] Because Central Park was designated in 1853, the Sixth Avenue Line was only built to 59th Street. This long-dormant clause was used in 1894, when the Common Council ordered the company, then leased to the Metropolitan Street Railway, to build in what had become Lenox Avenue from 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park) to the Harlem River.Harry James Carman, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC39242813&id=TTwYcXTL28wC The Street Surface Railway Franchises of New York City] , pages 39 to 54 and 198 to 202] The Metropolitan used the line to experiment with conduit electrification, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F11FE385911738DDDA00894DB405B8585F0D3 Trolley Under Ground] , March 9, 1895, page 5] opening on July 9, 1895. From opening, the main line began at Columbus Avenue and 108th Street, where the cable-powered Columbus Avenue Line ended, and ran along Columbus Avenue, 109th Street, Manhattan Avenue, 116th Street, and Lenox Avenue to the river (148th Street). [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F1EFA3B5911738DDDA90994DF405B8585F0D3 New Trolley a Success] , July 10, 1895, page 5] Franchises for the tracks other than on Lenox Avenue had been granted to the Lexington Avenue and Pavonia Ferry Railroad in 1892 and the Columbus and Ninth Avenue Railroad in 1894. The Metropolitan soon decided that it would convert all of its lines to the conduit system, being less costly than cable traction. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30611FE3A5911738DDDA80B94D0405B8585F0D3 Horse and Cable to Go] , August 31, 1895, page 1] The Lenox Avenue Car House, a car house and power house, occupied the block bounded by Lenox Avenue, Seventh Avenue, and 146th and 147th Streets. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0613F9385D15738DDDAB0994DA405B8585F0D3 In the Real Estate Field] , February 12, 1895, page 15] [, 1899]

A second route was soon added, from the end of the cable-operated Lexington Avenue Line at 105th Street north on Lexington Avenue, west on 116th Street, and north on Lenox Avenue.Fact|date=March 2007 When the cable lines were electrified in 1901, they were combined with the Lenox Avenue Line, which lost its separate identity.Fact|date=March 2007 The car house was rebuilt as a bus garage by the New York City Omnibus Corporation in 1938 and 1939, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50614FE395C1B7A93C6AB178ED85F4C8385F9 Garage to Replace Harlem Car House] , May 24, 1938, page 36] [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10910FA3954107A93C3AA178CD85F4D8385F9 3 Acre Bus Garage to be Opened Today] , July 31, 1939, page 11] and is still used by the New York City Transit Authority as the Mother Clara Hale Depot.

References