Seventh Avenue Line (Manhattan surface)
Encyclopedia
The Seventh Avenue Line is a surface public transit line in Manhattan
, New York City
, United States
, connecting Lower Manhattan
with Central Park along Seventh Avenue
. Once a streetcar line, it is now part of the southbound direction of the M10 and M20 bus routes.
- connecting Broadway near City Hall with Central Park. The Seventh Avenue Line began at Seventh Avenue and 59th Street
and proceeded in a general southerly direction through Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue
, Eighth Street
, MacDougal Street
, Fourth Street, Thompson Street
, Canal Street
, and West Broadway
, with a one-way pair
of single tracks in West Broadway and Barclay Street in one direction and Chambers Street
and Church Street
in the other, and ending in a double track on the block of Barclay Street between Church Street and Broadway. Branches along three other streets - Broome Street, Duane Street, and Park Place - to Broadway were also authorized, and the Broadway Line shared the route north of Times Square
and south of Barclay Street (in one direction on Church Street) and Canal Street (in the other direction on West Broadway).
The company was incorporated on May 26, 1864, and opened the Seventh Avenue Line by the end of 1865. The initial route ran northbound on Church Street and southbound on West Broadway from Barclay Street to Chambers Street, using West Broadway in both directions to Canal Street. Except in Barclay Street, the line used existing tracks already shared between the Sixth Avenue Railroad's Sixth Avenue Line
and Eighth Avenue Railroad's Eighth Avenue Line
south of the intersection of Canal Street and Thompson Street.
An 1866 law required the company to replace its double track in Fourth and Thompson Streets with a one-way pair
, the other direction using Third and Sullivan Streets between MacDougal and Canal Streets. Since the block of MacDougal Street between Third and Fourth Streets was already used northbound by the Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad's Bleecker Street Line
, and the Seventh Avenue cars used that track via trackage rights
, a law was passed in 1867 requiring the Seventh Avenue cars to travel in the same direction, with northbound cars in Sullivan Street, a block west of southbound cars in Thompson Street.
The line in Park Place from the one-way pair of West Broadway and Church Street east to Broadway was built later for Seventh Avenue cars, while the Broadway Line
continued to use Barclay Street, one block to the south.
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...
, 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...
, connecting Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
with Central Park along Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
. Once a streetcar line, it is now part of the southbound direction of the M10 and M20 bus routes.
History
The Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad was chartered by the New York State Legislature in April 1860; the authorized system consisted of two main lines - the Seventh Avenue Line and Broadway LineBroadway Line (Lower Manhattan surface)
The Broadway Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Broadway and Seventh Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Central Park. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the southbound direction of the M5 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit...
- connecting Broadway near City Hall with Central Park. The Seventh Avenue Line began at Seventh Avenue and 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
and proceeded in a general southerly direction through Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich Avenue (Manhattan)
Greenwich Avenue is a southeast-northwest avenue in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of 6th Avenue and 8th Street at its southeast end to its northwestern end at 8th Avenue between 14th Street and 13th Street...
, Eighth Street
Eighth Street (Manhattan)
Eighth Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from Sixth Avenue to Third Avenue, and Avenue B to Avenue D; it switches from west to east at Fifth Avenue. Between Third Avenue and Avenue A, the position in the grid that would be occupied by Eighth Street is known as...
, MacDougal Street
MacDougal Street
MacDougal Street is a one way street in Greenwich Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The approximate six-block street is bound by Prince Street and West 8th Street. It has been the subject of many songs, poems, and other forms of artistic expression. MacDougal Street has been...
, Fourth Street, Thompson Street
Thompson Street
Thompson Street is the third solo album by American country music singer Brady Seals. It was released in February 2003 via Image Entertainment...
, Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
, and West Broadway
West Broadway (Manhattan)
West Broadway, not to be confused with Broadway, is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan separated into two parts by a park. The northern part begins at TriBeCa Park, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Walker Street and Beach Street in TriBeCa...
, with a one-way pair
One-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or just couplet is a pair of parallel, usually one-way streets that carry opposite directions of a signed route or major traffic flow, or sometimes opposite directions of a bus or streetcar route....
of single tracks in West Broadway and Barclay Street in one direction and Chambers Street
Chambers Street (Manhattan)
Chambers Street is a bi-directional street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from River Terrace, Battery Park City, in the west, past PS 234 and Stuyvesant High School to 1 Centre Street, the Manhattan Municipal Building, to the east. In the early 20th century the street...
and Church Street
Church Street (Manhattan)
Church Street is a short but heavily travelled north/south street in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs along the eastern edge of the site of the World Trade Center destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its southern end is at Trinity Place, of which it is a continuation...
in the other, and ending in a double track on the block of Barclay Street between Church Street and Broadway. Branches along three other streets - Broome Street, Duane Street, and Park Place - to Broadway were also authorized, and the Broadway Line shared the route north of Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
and south of Barclay Street (in one direction on Church Street) and Canal Street (in the other direction on West Broadway).
The company was incorporated on May 26, 1864, and opened the Seventh Avenue Line by the end of 1865. The initial route ran northbound on Church Street and southbound on West Broadway from Barclay Street to Chambers Street, using West Broadway in both directions to Canal Street. Except in Barclay Street, the line used existing tracks already shared between the Sixth Avenue Railroad's Sixth Avenue Line
Sixth Avenue Line (Manhattan surface)
The Sixth Avenue Line was a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Sixth Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Central Park...
and Eighth Avenue Railroad's Eighth Avenue Line
Eighth Avenue Line (Manhattan surface)
The Eighth Avenue Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Eighth Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Harlem. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M10 bus route and the M20 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority...
south of the intersection of Canal Street and Thompson Street.
An 1866 law required the company to replace its double track in Fourth and Thompson Streets with a one-way pair
One-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or just couplet is a pair of parallel, usually one-way streets that carry opposite directions of a signed route or major traffic flow, or sometimes opposite directions of a bus or streetcar route....
, the other direction using Third and Sullivan Streets between MacDougal and Canal Streets. Since the block of MacDougal Street between Third and Fourth Streets was already used northbound by the Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad's Bleecker Street Line
Bleecker Street Line
The Bleecker Street Line was a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Bleecker Street, Crosby Street, and Lafayette Street from the West 14th Street Ferry in Chelsea to the Fulton Ferry in the Financial District...
, and the Seventh Avenue cars used that track via trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
, a law was passed in 1867 requiring the Seventh Avenue cars to travel in the same direction, with northbound cars in Sullivan Street, a block west of southbound cars in Thompson Street.
The line in Park Place from the one-way pair of West Broadway and Church Street east to Broadway was built later for Seventh Avenue cars, while the Broadway Line
Broadway Line (Lower Manhattan surface)
The Broadway Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Broadway and Seventh Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Central Park. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the southbound direction of the M5 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit...
continued to use Barclay Street, one block to the south.