Stillwell Avenue
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 the central section of Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
. It is 2.4 miles (3.86 kilometres) long and begins at a dead end on Coney Island. Traffic is two way. The road goes north, leaving Coney Island, ending at Bay Parkway, where the road continues as the Bay Ridge Parkway (former Route 439
New York State Route 439
New York State Route 439 was an east–west state highway on Staten Island in New York, United States. The western terminus of the route was at the Goethals Bridge, where it continued into New Jersey as its Route 439. Its eastern terminus was at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in the St....
). On December 11, 2008 it acquired the subsidiary name Polar Bear Club Walk, named for the Coney Island Polar Bear Club
Coney Island Polar Bear Club
The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the United States. The club was founded by famed health advocate Bernarr McFadden in 1903...
. The Stillwell Avenue/Surf Avenue intersection on Coney Island is the location of what is said to be the largest subway station in the world.
History
Stillwell Avenue was named after settler Nicholas Stillwell (1603-1671), who had a farm in the area and became the progenitor of an influential Brooklyn family by the same name.Street description
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, just north of the Riegelmann Boardwalk
Riegelmann Boardwalk
The Riegelmann Boardwalk, named for Edward J. Riegelmann but known by many as simply as the Coney Island Boardwalk, is located along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean....
. The road parallels Henderson Walk for a short distance to the intersection with Surf Avenue at 0.2 mile. Surf Avenue stretches parallel to the boardwalk on Coney Island. Neptune Avenue is the next intersection, intersecting at 0.4 mile. Soon afterwards, Stillwell Avenue crosses Coney Island Creek
Coney Island Creek
Coney Island Creek encompasses two sea inlets in Brooklyn, New York City, one separating Coney Island from the neighborhoods of Gravesend and Bath Beach, the other separating the neighborhoods of Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach...
, which reaches into Lower New York Bay
Lower New York Bay
Lower New York Bay is that section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long...
. Just after crossing the creek, Stillwell Avenue goes under the Shore Parkway, a section of the Belt Parkway
Belt Parkway
The Belt System is a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The system comprises four officially separate parkways; however, three of the four are signed as the Belt Parkway...
system. Although it does not have an interchange with the road, Exit 6N on the westbound Shore Parkway is for Stillwell Avenue. Instead, the exit lets off at Avenue Z and accesses Stillwell within a mile. Bay 50th Street intersects just afterwards 1 miles (1.6 km). Stillwell Avenue passes by Scarangella Park and intersects 86th Street at 1.6 miles (2.6 km). At 2.3 miles (3.7 km), there is an intersection with Kings Highway
Kings Highway (Brooklyn)
Kings Highway is a broad avenue that passes mostly through areas in the southern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The west end is at Bay Parkway and 78th Street. East of Ocean Avenue the street becomes mostly residential, tending generally east, then northeast, then north through...
, which ends soon afterwards at Bay Parkway. Stillwell Avenue also comes to an end at Bay Parkway, 2.4 miles (3.9 km) from the beginning. The road virtually continues as Bay Ridge Parkway, a former street making up part of Route 439
New York State Route 439
New York State Route 439 was an east–west state highway on Staten Island in New York, United States. The western terminus of the route was at the Goethals Bridge, where it continued into New Jersey as its Route 439. Its eastern terminus was at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in the St....
.
History
Plans for Stillwell Avenue began in October 1926. The street was to stretch from Bay Parkway (its current northern terminus) and Neptune Avenue on Coney Island (.4 of a mile from the southern terminus). The project was to cost $331,500 and was certified by BrooklynBrooklyn
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...
president James J. Byrne. Stillwell Avenue, at the intersection with Surf Avenue, is the location of an original Nathan's after the first one was torn down.
Future and culture
The New York SunNew York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
newspaper released a story on November 13, 2006 about plans to reinvigorate Coney Island. Most of it was for the amusement parks, including a roller coaster that would go in and out brand-new buildings along Stillwell Avenue. Where Stillwell Avenue meets the Riegelmann Boardwalk, the architect wanted to build a large waterpark and a three-story carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
.
Transportation
Subway
At the Surf Avenue intersection on Coney Island, the largest elevated rapid transitRapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
terminal
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
in existence is located on Stillwell Avenue. The station is also the most energy-efficient transit facility in the world. The station, originally opened in 1919, rebuilt and re-opened in 2004 provides access to the trains. The other station located along Stillwell Avenue is the Bay 50th Street
Bay 50th Street (BMT West End Line)
Bay 50th Street is a local station on the BMT West End Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Bay 50th Street and Stillwell Avenue in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is served by the D train at all times...
station in southern Brooklyn. Located in front of the John Dewey High School, the station services only the D train.