What's New at the Gallery Annex

THE FUTURE BENEATH US:
8 GREAT PROJECTS UNDER NEW YORK

Extended through November 1

Photo: Patrick Cashin

A 2-part exhibition on display at the Transit Museum's Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library Science Industry and Business Library on Madison Avenue at 34th Street.

February 17 - July 5, 2009

Examining 8 mega underground infrastructure projects that will dramatically change how we move around New York, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's East Side Access, Second Avenue Subway, 7 Subway Extension and Fulton Transit Center; the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's Croton Water Filtration Plant and City Water Tunnel No. 3; New Jersey Transit's Trans-Hudson Express (THE) Tunnel Project and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's World Trade Center Site.

The following sponsors have generously contributed to this project:

UNDERWRITERS:
The General Contractor's Association of New York
Parsons Brinckerhoff

SPONSORS:
Granite Construction Northeast, Inc.
Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.
STV
The Port Authority of NY & NJ
WDF, Inc., a Greenstar Co.

CONTRIBUTORS:
American Council of Engineering Companies of New York
HAKS
Hazen and Sawyer, P.C.
Judlau Contracting, Inc.
New Jersey Transit
Skanska USA Civil

FRIENDS:
IH Engineers, P.C.
Longi Engineering, P.C.
New York Building Congress
New York Building Foundation
Railworks Corporation
Systra USA

New York Transit Museum programs are made possible, in part, by a grant from Independence Community Foundation, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

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What's New at the Transit Museum

LAST DAY OF THE MYRTLE AVENUE EL:
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THERESA KING

September 29, 2009 - February 28, 2010

Opening in 1888, the Myrtle Avenue el ran from downtown Brooklyn to Queens, passing through Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Ridgewood, and Middle Village. After eighty years, to the dismay of many passengers, the Myrtle Avenue el closed in 1969 and was demolished the following year. Yet, in the mid-20th century, the el's wooden train cars and antiquated stations still held fond memories for riders who grew up in those neighborhoods.

The exhibition is a photo essay by Theresa King shot in a single day forty years ago. The photographer recalls, "At midnight on October 3, 1969 over a thousand people eagerly awaited a train - not just any train, but the final train to run on Brooklyn's Myrtle Avenue elevated line. These people were taking the last ride on this historic elevated train. As soon as they crammed on, the train rolled along from Brooklyn's Jay Street station to the Metropolitan Avenue station in Queens. At the end of this sad journey, some passengers took artifacts to remember this very special old timer and bid a fond farewell. The pictures were taken during this last day at various stations along the Myrtle Avenue el in Brooklyn. During my childhood, I rode this train daily and loved the look of the station stops and the train itself. When I realized the line was due for demolition, I wanted to document a part of Brooklyn's past that would be no more."

Myrtle Avenue-named for the myrtle trees that once grew in the area - has been a major roadway since the early 1800's. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Knickerbocker Stage Coach Line ran omnibus service on the avenue. In April 1888 the Myrtle Avenue elevated train began operation from downtown Brooklyn to Grand Avenue Junction, where Pratt Institute had opened one year earlier. That September, the line was extended west to Sands Street, where passengers could transfer to a cable car to cross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. In 1889 it was extended east to Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick, and then to Metropolitan Avenue in Queens in 1906. When it first opened the neighborhoods along the western end of Myrtle Avenue - downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, and Clinton Hill, were already densely populated. The Brooklyn Bridge had been completed five years earlier and omnibus lines and railroads served the area. Beyond Grand Avenue Junction, however, the area was still mostly rural, and much of eastern Myrtle Avenue developed along with the el. Bushwick's housing and industry boomed in the late 1880's, as German immigrants opened successful large-scale breweries, and Ridgewood developed just after the line was extended there in the prosperous years before World War I. But beginning in the 1930s, with the decline of business along Brooklyn's once vibrant waterfront and the opening of what is today the G subway line, ridership on the Myrtle Avenue el began a decline that would culminate with the closing of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1966.

The exhibit features color and black and white photographs by Theresa King, along with historic photographs, archival material, and station signage from the New York Transit Museum collection.

Support for the exhibition has been provided, in part, by a grant from Independence Community
Foundation, and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency,
and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

RELATED PROGRAMMING:

SPECIAL EVENT

Sunday, September 13 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
MYRTLE AVENUE STREET FAIR

The Transit Museum joins Myrtle Avenue's Street Fair in honor of the current exhibition of Theresa King's photography, Last Day of the Myrtle Avenue El. Visit our display of vintage images of the el, including its last days and long history, and enjoy the fair's other activities, performances, and dining. Sponsored by the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project. Visit www.mymyrtleavenue.org for more information.

GALLERY TALK

Sunday, October 18 2 p.m.
THERESA KING, LAST DAY OF THE MYRTLE AVENUE EL
Artist Theresa King leads a gallery tour of the Museum's current exhibition of her photography, Last Day of the Myrtle Avenue El.

CHILDRENS PROGRAM

Saturday, November 7 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP: PHOTOJOURNALISM AND THE MYRTLE AVENUE EL
For this one-of-a-kind Transit Museum workshop, advance registration by phone is recommended: please call 718-694-1792.

Follow in the footsteps of artist Theresa King, whose 1969 photos captured a moment in time as she documented the last day of the Myrtle Avenue el. You'll tell your own Myrtle Ave story in this special photography workshop. Begin with an overview from Theresa King and a private tour of her exhibition, Last Day of the Myrtle Avenue El. Then travel to Myrtle Avenue with teaching artist/photographer Christina Freeman, where you'll learn photojournalism techniques and shape your own digital photography tale. Back at the Museum's technology lab learn creative digital editing and print your photos to take home. Ages 9 to 12, with parent chaperones.

 


  

 

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