| Fifth Avenue Elevated | |
|---|---|
 The Atlantic Avenue station of the Fifth Avenue Elevated line. | |
| Overview | |
| Other name | BMT Fifth Avenue Line |
| Owner | City of New York |
| Termini | |
| Service | |
| Type | Rapid transit |
| System | Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation |
| Operator(s) | Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation |
| History | |
| Opened | 1888–1893 |
| Closed | 1940 |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Character | Elevated |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Electrification | 600 V DCthird rail |
TheFifth Avenue Line, also called theFifth Avenue Elevated orFifth Avenue–Bay Ridge Line, was anelevated rail line inBrooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Hudson Avenue,Flatbush Avenue,Fifth Avenue, 38th Street, andThird Avenue fromDowntown Brooklyn south toBay Ridge. The portion on Third Avenue was called theThird Avenue Elevated to distinguish service from the elevatedBMT West End Line; it was separate from the elevatedIRT Third Avenue Line in Manhattan and the Bronx.
TheUnion Elevated Railroad Company,[2] leased by theBrooklyn Elevated Railroad, built theHudson Avenue Elevated, a branch of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad'sLexington Avenue Elevated. This line split from the Brooklyn elevated at a junction at Hudson and Park Avenues (where exit 29 of theBrooklyn–Queens Expressway is now located), and traveled south above Hudson Avenue to theLong Island Rail Road'sFlatbush Avenue terminal. Trains began operating betweenFulton Ferry (the terminal of the Brooklyn elevated) and Flatbush Avenue on November 5, 1888.[3]
The line crossed theBMT Myrtle Avenue Lineat grade two blocks south of its merge with the Brooklyn elevated. On its second day of operation, November 6, a Hudson Avenue train crashed into a Myrtle Avenue train.[4] Service was suspended immediately,[5] and did not resume until June 22, 1889, when an extension south toThird Street was completed, and a new connection into Myrtle Avenue opened, taking trains between Third Street andSands Street at the end of the Myrtle Avenue Line, and replacing the four track crossings with one.[6] The unused two blocks north of Myrtle Avenue were placed back in service on December 9, 1889, when Myrtle Avenue trains began to use it to reach Fulton Ferry via the old Brooklyn elevated.[7]
An extension south to25th Street atGreenwood Cemetery was opened at 4 p.m. on August 15, 1889. At this new terminal, elevated passengers could transfer to the north end of theBrooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad forConey Island.[8][9] A further extension to36th Street, at a newUnion Depot serving the West End Line andProspect Park and Coney Island Railroad (Culver Line) to Coney Island, opened on May 29, 1890.[10] TheLong Island Rail Road (LIRR) had service on the elevated line from Brooklyn Bridge, through Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues to the 36th Street Union Depot, connecting with the Manhattan Beach Line starting in 1895.[citation needed]
TheSeaside and Brooklyn Bridge Elevated Railroad was organized on March 18, 1890[11] to extend the Fifth Avenue Elevated south toFort Hamilton, to extend the Lexington Avenue Elevated fromVan Siclen Avenue east to the city line,[12] and to build in High Street at theBrooklyn Bridge (this became part of theSands Street station loop).[13] The extension of the Fifth Avenue Elevated, along Fifth Avenue, 38th Street, and Third Avenue, opened to65th Street on October 1, 1893.[14][15]
On June 25, 1923, two cars of a northbound train derailed and fell towards Flatbush Avenue. Eight passengers died and many were injured.[16][17] At midnight on June 1, 1940, service on the Fifth Avenue Elevated ended as required by the unification of the city's three subway companies.[18][19]
On September 15, 1941, the demolition of the Fifth Avenue Elevated started at 35th Street and Fifth Avenue, and it was completed by November of that year.[20] The section of the elevated on Third Avenue from 38th Street to 65th Street was used as part of the elevated highway approach, theGowanus Expressway, to theBrooklyn–Battery Tunnel. In total, three miles of the elevated were scrapped, with the work being done by the Harris Structural Steel Company.[2]
Fifth Avenue trains servedPark Row,Sands Street,Adams Street, andBridge–Jay Streets before leaving theMyrtle Avenue Line.
| Name | Opened | Closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Street | July 27, 1889[8][9] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toFulton Street elevated trains andFulton Street Line,DeKalb Avenue Line, andFlatbush Avenue Line streetcars |
| Atlantic Avenue | November 5, 1888[3] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toLong Island Rail RoadAtlantic Division trains atFlatbush Avenue andSt. Johns Place Line,Flatbush Avenue Line,Third Avenue Line, andSeventh Avenue Line streetcars |
| St. Marks Avenue | June 22, 1889[6] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toBergen Street Line streetcars |
| Union Street | June 22, 1889[6] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toUnion Street Line streetcars |
| Third Street | June 22, 1889[6] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| Ninth Street | August 15, 1889[8] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toSmith and Ninth Streets Line andHamilton Avenue Line streetcars |
| 16th Street | August 15, 1889[8] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection to15th Street Line streetcars |
| 20th Street | August 15, 1889[8] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| 25th Street | August 15, 1889[8] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| 36th Street | May 29, 1890[10] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toWest End Line trains |
| 40th Street | October 1, 1893[14] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toChurch Avenue Line,39th Street and Coney Island Line,39th Street and Manhattan Beach Line, and39th Street and Ulmer Park Line streetcars |
| 46th Street | October 1, 1893[14] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| 52nd Street | October 1, 1893[14] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| 58th Street | October 1, 1893[14] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | |
| 65th Street | October 1, 1893[14] | June 1, 1940[18][19] | connection toSea Beach Line,Bay Ridge Suburban Line,Bay Ridge Line,Third Avenue Line, and86th Street Suburban Line streetcars |
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