Grand Street (Brooklyn)
Encyclopedia
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Originating in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, Grand Street runs roughly northeast until crossing the English Kills into Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, whereupon Grand Street becomes Grand Avenue, continuing through Maspeth where it is a main shopping street, until reaching its northern end at Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens connecting communities from Midtown Manhattan to Jamaica...
, Elmhurst
Elmhurst, Queens
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...
. Broadway continues the thoroughfare north and west. Grand Street/Avenue is served by the Q54, Q58, and the Q59 buses. The Grand Street
Grand Street (BMT Canarsie Line)
Grand Street is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Grand Street and Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, it is served by the L train at all times....
(BMT) subway station serves the corner of Grand Street and Bushwick Avenue, while the Grand Avenue-Newtown (IND) subway station is located at Grand Avenue and Queens Boulevard.
History
When Williamsburg was an independent town (and, later, city), Grand St. was its first main east-west commercial street which acted as a dividing line between the Northside of town and the Southside. Street numbering originated here with North 1st St, North 2nd St (now Metropolitan AvenueMetropolitan Avenue
Metropolitan Avenue is a major east-west street in Queens and northern Brooklyn. Its western end is at the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the eastern end at Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens....
) and so on running parallel to Grand to the north and South 1st St, South 2nd St and so on progressing to the south. Its initial segments from the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
were first named Washington Street and then Dunham Street . It was extended to the southeast to Roebling Street in 1812 and to the then village line between Rodney & Keap Streets in 1830. Soon after, the street was extended to Union Avenue in the new third ward of Williamsburg and bent on an angle to the east in order to pass through the property of several prominent land owners. Grand street was opened from Bushwick Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue in 1858.
In the 19th century, before the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...
, the Grand Street Ferry
Grand Street Ferry
The Grand Street Ferry was a ferry route connecting Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, United States, joining Grand Street and Grand Street across the East River.-History:...
connected Grand Street, Brooklyn to Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The Grand Street Line was a streetcar line along the road. Two Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
stations existed along the street in both boroughs. Grand Street (LIRR Evergreen station) along the Evergreen Branch near Willamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
from 1868 to 1885, and Grand Street (LIRR Main Line station)
Grand Street (LIRR Main Line station)
Grand Street was a railroad station located on the Main Line of the Long Island Railroad It was located on Grand Street in the Elmhurst section of Queens, New York City, west of the present Grand Avenue – Newtown subway station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line...
, a station in Elmhurst
Elmhurst, Queens
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...
along Main Line
Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)
The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It begins in Long Island City and runs along the middle of Long Island about 95 miles to Greenport...
that also served the Rockaway Beach Branch
Rockaway Beach Branch
The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay to Hammels in the Rockaways turning west there to a...
from 1913 to 1925.
At some point between the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge and 1913 (it appears on a 1913 map of Brooklyn), Grand Street was connected to the bridge plaza from the elbow bend near Union Avenue by the Grand Street Extension (now named Borinquen Place) and this became the main flow for car traffic. In 1950, Grand Street was severed by the BQE between Marcy Avenue and Rodney Street in 1950.
Cultural references
The street is referenced in songs and books from many New York artists, including Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
(Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is a song written by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. The album version also appears on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. A live version of this song appears on the 1976 album Hard Rain; and was also released as...
) and Matt & Kim (the title of their album Grand as well as the lyrics of their songs Cameras and Daylight).