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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.

ByNew York Transit Museum logoNew York Transit Museum
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Smith and Schermerhorn Streets
Smith and Schermerhorn Streets icon

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
Bridge and Fulton Streets icon

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
DeKalb Avenue Station, BMT Brighton and Fourth Avenue Lines icon

DeKalb Avenue Station, BMT Brighton and Fourth Avenue Lines

BMT construction at DeKalb Avenue, 1919.
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395 Flatbush Avenue Extension
395 Flatbush Avenue Extension icon

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 El at Fulton Street icon

Fifth Avenue El at Fulton Street

Fifth Avenue Elevated tracks, above Flatbush Avenue, 1941.
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Ashland Place
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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
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Ashland Place

Ashland Place during BMT construction, 1911.
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Lafayette Avenue and Ashland Place
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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
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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
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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
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520 Fourth Avenue

A worker poses with a concrete siphon on Fourth Avenue in Gowanus, 1915.
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