I Quarterly Bulletin of The New-York Historical Society VOLUME XIX (April, 1935-October, 1935) and Annual Report for 1935

The New-York Historical Society 1936

THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY BULLETIN

VOL. XIX APRIL, -1935 No. 1

THE ELEVATED STRUCTURES ON 110TH STREET, LOOKING SOUTHWEST FROM EIGHTH AVENUE, 1879. In the distance, at the left, is shown Lion Park, at 108th Street and Ninth Avenue. (From the collection of William Fullerton Reeves.) NEW YORK: 170 CENTRAL PARK WEST PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AND ISSUED TO MEMBERS THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 170 CENTRAL PARK WEST (Erected by the Society 1908) Wings to be erected on the 76th and 77th Street corners

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY

For Three Years, ending January 4, 1938

PRESIDENT FOREIGN CORRESPONDING SECRETARY JOHN ABEEL WEEKES ARCHER MILTON HUNTINGTON

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT DOMESTIC CORRESPONDING SECRETARY ARTHUR H. MASTEN ERSKINE HEWITT

SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT RECORDING SECRETARY R. HORACE GALLATIN B. W. B. BROWN

THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT TREASURER ROBERT E. DOWLING GEORGE A. ZABRISKIE

FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT LIBRARIAN WILLIAM D. MURPHY ALEXANDER J. WALL

The New York Historical Society is not responsible for statements in signed articles. RAPID TRANSIT ELEVATED LINES IN NEW YORK CITY

BY WILLIAM FULLERTON REEVES

In the Quarterly Bulletin for January, 1935, we traced the history of the structure on Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue, begun in 1867 by the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway Company, and extended by its successor, the New York Elevated Railroad Company, to 61st Street and Ninth Avenue in 1876. We also told about the incorporation, in 1872, of the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company, which began in April, 1876, to build the city's second elevated line, along Sixth Avenue. In this con­ cluding installment we shall continue the history of the Sixth Ave­ nue line, and narrate how the two west side companies constructed elevated lines on the east side, along Second and Third Avenues, under the beneficent unifying influence of the Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners. The strongest opposition to the Gilbert Company's construc­ tion work on Sixth Avenue came from the Sixth Avenue Surface Railroad Company. This company had obtained its franchise in 1851, and had begun operating surface cars on Sixth Avenue in 1854-57. They tried to prevent the building of elevated struc­ tures over their tracks and right-of-way on Sixth Avenue by legal proceedings. They constructed a double-decked horse-car and put it in service on November 1, 1877, to convey the idea that the elevated structure did not provide headroom enough for such cars, and so pre-empted their right to use them. However, as we have learned, .the injunction was set aside, construction work on the elevated structure made rapid progress, and by the spring of 1878, the line was complete as planned, from Morris Street to Sixth Avenue and 59th Street. The final experimental train of four cars and one engine was operated over the line on May 29th, and the structures were opened for public traffic on June 4th and 5th. For advertising purposes, the public had the privilege of riding on the Sixth Avenue elevated on the fourth without paying a fare, and the fifth of June, 1878, was the first "pay day" for the public. 3 4 THENEW-YORKHISTORICALSOCIETY

On the very next day, June 6, 1878, by an order from the Supreme Court, the name of the Gilbert Elevated Railway Com­ pany was changed to Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company. This change instilled new life into the six-year-old company, which had been beset with internal troubles, financial difficulties and con­ struction problems. The Metropolitan Elevated Railway Com­ pany was heir to the obligations of the Gilbert company, and as the time for construction was limited under the old charter, the newly- named company lost no time in continuing to build the elevated structures. On June 8, 1878, they started to facilitate and super­ vise the construction of the next section, on 53rd Street, between Sixth and Ninth Avenues, and thence north on Ninth Avenue, to 59th Streets, which was already under sub-contracts. This line, according to the original routing, was to continue north on Ninth Avenue to 110th Street, thence to Eighth Avenue and the Harlem River. Part of this route, however, on Ninth Avenue from 53rd to 83rd Street, was claimed as part of the franchise route of the New York Elevated Railroad Company. The latter company con­ trolled this section under agreements dated December 21, 1877, with the New York Loan and Improvement Company and with the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company.' So in order to proceed with construction of this section, joint agreements had to be exe­ cuted by all the companies concerned. The actual building of the structures north to the Harlem River was supervised by still an­ other company, the Manhattan Railway Company, by virtue of a number of agreements executed by the Manhattan Railway Com­ pany, the New York Elevated Railroad Company (the Ninth Avenue line) and the Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company (the Sixth Avenue line). The Manhattan Railway Company originated in 1875, at the suggestion of the Board of Transit Commissioners, appointed by Mayor William H. Wickham in that year. The members were Messrs. Joseph Seligman, Lewis B. Brown, C. H. Delamater, Jor­ dan L. Mott, and C. J. Canda. Their report on rapid transit, submitted to the Mayor on October 6, 1875, contained this state­ ment: QUARTERLYBULLETIN O

"Although the New York Elevated Railroad Company and the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company give us reasonable assurance that they will construct and operate railways, within the times and upon the routes prescribed to them by us, we still adhere to the opinion, suggested in our previous report, and for reasons there stated, that a new corporation should be organized, as the law allows us to do, to render assurance doubly sure that our labors will result in rapid transit actu­ ally accomplished. That corporation we have decided to name the 'Manhattan. Railway Company.' It is to be organized with a capital stock of $2,000,000."

This report and the Articles of Association of the Manhattan Railway Company were filed in the office of the Secretary of State, December, 1875. Section 10 of the Articles provided that:

"In case the several portions of such railway or railways shall not be com­ pleted, each within the time and upon the conditions hereinbefore for it pro­ vided, the rights and franchises acquired by said corporations for and as to any portion of such railway or railways not so completed shall be released and for­ feited to the Supervisors of the County of New York."

The Manhattan Railway Company took complete control of the rapid transit railroad companies in the Borough of Manhattan by making a tripartite agreement, dated May 20, 1879, (and sev­ eral minor agreements later) with the New York Elevated Rail­ road Company and with the Metropolitan Elevated Railway Com­ pany. These two companies agreed to execute leases of their respective railways and other property, rights, and franchises of every description, including patent rights, to the Manhattan Rail­ way Company. These agreements also provided that after Sep­ tember 22, 1879, the Manhattan Railway Company would assume all construction contracts of the two companies. It was mutually agreed, subsequently, that September 1, 1879, should be deemed the date when the Manhattan Railway Company actually took possession, and assumed all obligations, contractual or otherwise, of the two elevated companies. These agreements made possible a more perfect system of rapid transit, and also avoided the dangers of grade crossings. In the meantime, the New York Loan and Improvement Com­ pany, under the old contracts made with the Gilbert Company, was proceeding with construction for the Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company. Trains were running west from Sixth Avenue THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SIXTH AVENUE ELEVATED IN COURSE OF ERECTION, 1878, ON COLUMBUS (NINTH) AVENUE, ABOUT 93D STREET, LOOKING EAST TOWARDS CENTRAL PARK. (From photograph in the collection of William Fullerton Reeves.) to 53rd Street and Eighth Avenue, by February 25, 1879; to 81 st Street and Ninth Avenue by June 9, 1879; and to 104th Street and Ninth Avenue, June 21, 1879. Then the Manhattan Railway Company took hold, and finished the structures to the Harlem River and opened them for public use as follows: the section from 104th Street and Ninth Avenue to the 125th Street and Eighth Avenue station, September 17, 1879; to the 135th Street station, September 27, 1879; and to 155th Street and Eighth Avenue (or about 200 feet north of that point), November 7, 1879. The station at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue was opened Decem­ ber 1, 1879. Other intermediate stations were opened on subse­ quent dates. These structures were widened and extended under an agree­ ment dated April 12, 1881, between the Manhattan Railway Com- QUARTERLY BULLETIN

THE ELEVATED STRUCTURES ON COLUMBUS (NINTH) AVENUE LOOKING NORTH­ WEST FROM 96TH STREET, 1879. Remains of the old Croton Aqueduct, built 1842, are visible at the extreme right and left. (From the collection of William Fullerton Reeves.) pany, the Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company and the New York City and Northern Railroad Company. This last was a steam railroad operating from Kingsbridge in the Bronx, which desired to establish a convenient transfer point, with sufficient station accommodations, so that passengers might transfer (for an extra fare) to the elevated railroad service on Manhattan Island. The trains coming into this station from the Bronx had to cross the New York and Putnam Company's bridge over the Harlem River, which was built in 1881 by our first elevated rail­ road friends, the West Side and Yonkers Railway Company, fol­ lowing plans made by Alfred P. Boiler, Civil Engineer, and John Newton, Colonel of Engineers, U. S. A. Soon after the station O THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY connections were provided, further yard and terminal facilities were badly needed. The elevated structures were widened, and in the early part of 1890, were extended from the main structure, Column No. 1278, to connect with the yards of the Manhattan Railway Company, then being constructed near the Harlem River. Later, a tract near 159th Street, with a 1500-foot frontage on the Harlem River (adjoining the upland owned by the Manhattan Railway Company) was leased from the City of New York (1898- 1907), thus creating a much more extensive yard, with a desirable waterfront, as a terminal for the use of the Manhattan Railway Company. The first repair shop and yard of the Manhattan Rail­ way Company, for the Sixth and Ninth Avenue Lines, were built in the early part of 1885, between 145th and 146th Street and Seventh and Eighth Avenues. In 1886-7, this yard was extended to include an additional block between 144th and 145th Streets. Wooden trestles were built on this southern block to bring the yard tracks to the level of the elevated structures on Eighth Ave­ nue. These trestles were built in sections, to accommodate operat­ ing requirements, and were completed on April 17, 1887. The yards were abandoned February 24, 1906, and the property sold. Now that we have reviewed the progress of the west side ele­ vated lines, from the southern end of Manhattan Island to the Harlem River, let us go back a few years, and take up the story of the elevated structures the west side companies built on Third Avenue and on Second Avenue. Their construction was made possible by Chapter 606 of the Laws of 1875, and progressed under that same wise Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners, (appointed by Mayor Wickham) which was responsible for the unifying Manhattan Railway Company. These five Commis­ sioners, let us recall, were Joseph Seligman, Lewis B. Brown, Cornelius H. Delamater, Jordan L. Mott, and Charles J. Canda. The Commissioners confirmed the franchises and routes of the operating companies, gave them wider latitude as to the type of structures, and extended the time limit fixed on construction. Such matters were liberally covered in all proceedings of the Commis­ sioners, and their goodwill and reasonableness served to insure a more certain and quicker solution of the city's rapid transit prob­ lem. They fixed a limited number of routes, which made the proj- QUARTERLYBULLETIN 9 ects more valuable, and of greater interest to investors, but also made acceptance of the routes, by any company, absolutely depen­ dent upon immediate development. The Board was empowered to regulate plans of construction and methods of operation, even those partly governed by some old act. Under this power, the Commissioners eliminated impossible plans and unreasonable meth­ ods. Where routes of competing companies were the same, the companies were compelled to cooperate as to grade crossings, the joint use of elevated structures, and joint maintenance costs where routes coincided. So the Commissioners made the construction of an elevated road rather a pleasure than the nightmare it had been before, and their rulings and dispensations greatly improved transit affairs, as a whole. The Rapid Transit Commissioners created for the New York Elevated Railroad Company (the Ninth Avenue Line) the possi­ bility of further extensions, by conferring on that company the right to build "a continuing and connecting route from their ele­ vated structures then existing and ending at Battery Place on Greenwich Street." The Company thus gained the right to extend that dead end at Battery Place by about eight or nine miles of elevated railroad structure, to South Ferry, and thence up the east side of the city, by way of State Street, Front Street, Coenties Slip, Pearl Street, New Bowery, the Bowery and Third Avenue to the Harlem River. The Company received also the additional per­ mission to make connections with steam railroads, ferries or bridges, terminating in the City of New York. The value of the Company's franchises were thus greatly enhanced, and it had the possibility of further success which it was just beginning to appre­ ciate. The.New York Elevated Railroad Company, therefore, after securing proper consents from public authorities and property owners, began the construction of the "Third Avenue Line" from South Ferry to the Harlem River. It was found that the line on the east side of the city could be built at much less cost, for material and erection, than the similar structures which had been built on the west side. Construction began November i, 1877, at Whitehall Street, and also at Chatham Square, proceeding north along the Bowery and Third Avenue to 42nd Street. 10 THE NEW -YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The spur on 42nd Street, from Third Avenue to the Grand Central Depot (built in 1871) was constructed in conformity with the right of the New York Elevated Railroad Company "to con­ nect with all steam railroads," and with the approval of the Rapid Transit Commissioners. Work on the 42nd Street structure was commenced February, 1878. After a few experimental trips com­ mencing August 12, 1878, the Third Avenue line was opened for public use, from South Ferry to the Grand Central Depot on Au­ gust 26, 1878. After about a year of this direct routing, and when the main line on Third Avenue had been constructed farther north, shuttle trains only were operated on the 42nd Street spur, between Third Avenue and the Grand Central Depot. Shuttle service was continued on this spur until 1924, when the City of New York took possession and removed these 42nd Street ele­ vated structures on the ground that they could no longer be con­ sidered a public necessity. The main line on Third Avenue was opened to a station at 67th Street, on September 16, 1878, and again extended to a sta­ tion at 89th Street on December 9, 1878. Shortly thereafter, on December 30, 1878, trains were operated for public service to a station at 129th Street and Third Avenue, then the northerly terminus. In the same year, terminal yards were opened, between 128th and 129th Streets, from Second to Third Avenues, with a limited water front on the Harlem River for handling coal. That was an important advantage, as all elevated trains had coal-burn­ ing locomotives, at that time, and the stations also were heated by coal. Property located between 98th and 99th Streets, and Third and Fourth Avenues was purchased on January 1, 1879, and in November, repair shops and office buildings were erected there, for use of the railroad company. This yard was practically cut in half when Lexington Avenue was first opened from 97th to 102nd Street in August, 1894. In February, 1879, the New York Elevated Railroad Com­ pany began another spur, extending from the main line on Third Avenue, eastward on 34th Street, to practically a direct connec­ tion with the ferry, which served the station, trains, and terminal of the Long Island Railroad in Long Island City. The 24th Street branch was opened for public use on July 1, 1880. There was a QUARTERLY BULLETIN 11

ARRIVAL OF FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN OF THE NEW YORK ELEVATED RAIL­ ROAD (THIRD AVENUE LINE) AT THE GRAND CENTRAL DEPOT, AUGUST 26, 1878. From Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 7, 1878. 12 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

fine, ornate station at the ferry end, adjacent to the commodious station built by the Long Island Railroad Company (which had an operating interest in the ferry then and took full control in 1892). This branch and the Long Island ferry were particularly popular in the days of "meets" at the Belmont Park Race Track, but were practically put out of business when horse racing was prohibited in 1905. The 34th Street spur was also used for ex­ perimental trains, in 1900-1902, when the Manhattan Railway Company was making electric train tests, with a view to operating trains by electricity over the entire system. Train service on the. 34th Street spur was discontinued by the railroad company on July 14, 1930. The following day, the City of New York took possession of these structures by condemnation proceedings, on the grounds: "no longer a public necessity," and most of the struc­ tures were removed by the City. The City Hall Branch of the Third Avenue Line was another structure built under the right to connect with "steam railways, bridges, or ferries." It extended from the Bowery and the New Bowery, to and through Chatham Street (now Park Row) to Tryon Row, and afterwards made a connection with the westerly terminal of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge then under con­ struction. The City Hall Branch was begun in June, 1878, and opened for business March 17, 1879. It remained in service for only ten days, but again opened March 1, 1880, and stayed open. Many trains from the main line, then operating on the Bowery, were routed directly over this branch, serving this City Hall Sta­ tion. That was a very busy station after the Brooklyn Bridge was opened on May 24, 1883. Later, elevated trains operating in Brooklyn (now the B. M. T. Lines) secured a permit to cross Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, and make a station connection with the trains operating on this City Hall Branch. Many additions and improvements have been made on the Third Avenue Line since its erection, such as middle tracks, new stations, the adoption, in August, 1902, of electricity for train operation, and in 1916, new express tracks and double decking. Of the four elevated lines on Manhattan Island, the last to be built was the Second Avenue Line. Its routing was fixed by the five Rapid Transit Commissioners appointed by Mayor Wickham QUARTERLYBULLETIN 13

(under Chapter 606 of the Laws of 1875), and was part of the route granted to the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company (and its successor, in 1878, the Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company). However, it overlapped part of the routes originally granted to the New York Elevated Railroad Company. There was an agree­ ment, however, between the Board of Rapid Transit Commis­ sioners and the railroad companies involved that where routes of the two companies coincided, those portions could be built by either company and the cost divided in some equitable way. After the section had been put in operation, the expense of maintenance should be divided under separate agreements. The Metropolitan Elevated Railway Company began to con­ struct the Second Avenue Line under the contract of March 13, 1876, between its predecessor (the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company) and the New York Loan and Improvement Company, the same contract under which the greater part of the Sixth Ave­ nue Line was built. The New York Loan and Improvement Com­ pany made a new contract with the Metropolitan Company, with the iron manufacturers (the Edgemoor Iron Company, and Clarke, Reeves & Company), and with the foundation contractors, Mills and Ambrose, and actively undertook building the Second Avenue Line. Work was actually started by Mills and Ambrose, the foundation contractors, at the corner of Allen and Division Street, on February 24, 1879. By the fall of 1879, a^ foundations for the Second Avenue Line had been practically completed as far as 127th Street, and the iron work erected about as far as 65th Street. Then the Manhattan Railway Company entered the con­ struction field, under the tripartite agreement with the operating elevated railroad companies, with which we are already familiar. This company completed all the sub-contracts previously made by the other companies, and was able to finish the Second Avenue structures in the time prescribed. The first experimental train ran over the section from South Ferry to Second Avenue and 65th Street on January 15, 1880, and it was ready for regular train operation on March 1, 1880. In the building of the Second Avenue Line, the unpleasantnesses experienced in building the elevated structures on the west side, seem to have been entirely eliminated, and all this work was accom- 14 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

plished with little financial trouble or legal entanglements. The public was evidently placated. They saw rapid transit coming to serve them, property values were discounted because of the advent of quick transportation, and the lines operating on the west side were showing excellent financial returns. The railroad companies were in a better frame of mind because of the lower prices for labor and materials, and the goodwill and wholesome support of the Rapid Transit Commissioners, then in control, had an hearten­ ing effect. The original Second Avenue structures were built in record time, with few construction troubles, and hardly any early legal complications. It is today considered the strongest type of structure of the entire Manhattan Elevated Railway System. Many changes have been made to the original structures to meet public requirements. New and additional tracks and stations have been added, and the wooden stations have been removed and re­ located, with iron structures. Let us outline the building of the Second Avenue Line. Con­ struction work was started at the corner of Allen and Division Streets on February 24, 1879, by the building of foundations under the supervision of Mills and Ambrose. In March, 1879, Clarke, Reeves & Company began to erect columns on Division Street and on Allen Street, and in April, 1879, that work was finished as far as Houston Street. On October 1, 1879, all iron work was erected as far north as 65th Street and Second Avenue. On March 9, 1880, all foundations were finished and the base castings set, nearly to the Harlem River. On June 15, 1880, all iron work was erected to 129th Street. By August 16, 1880, all structures and tracks were ready for operation, and trains were operated from South Ferry to 129th Street, the extreme northerly limit. A temporary wooden station was built on the easterly side of Second Avenue at 127th Street, and used as a terminal station for both north- and south-bound trains. A standard iron station was built at 127th Street, on the westerly side of Second Avenue, but was never used for train service. In addition to the iron stations built by this company, many wooden stations were built, to save time and expense. They were not in compliance with charter specifica­ tions, however, and finally had to be removed and iron stations substituted. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 15

THE ELEVATED STRUCTURES OF THE NEW YORK ELEVATED RAILROAD COM­ PANY (THIRD AVENUE LINE), CHATHAM SQUARE, 1878, BEFORE THE CONSTRUC­ TION OF THE SECOND AVENUE ELEVATED LINE. (From photograph in the collection of William Fullerton Reeves.)

The first railroad yard for the Second Avenue Line's use was located between 66th and 67th Street, Second and Third Avenues. It was first opened on March ist, 1880, when trains were first operated to 65th Street. This yard was abandoned March 17, 1905, and the property sold. In May, 1882, land was purchased by the Manhattan Railway Company, for terminal purposes, on the easterly side of Second Avenue, between 128th.Street and the Harlem River. Elevated yard structures were built thereon and are in use to-day. The extension of the Second Avenue Line to the west of Di­ vision Street or to the south was hindered by the structures of the New York Elevated Railroad Company. These, as we have seen, were located on New Bowery, the Bowery, Chatham Square 16 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY and Chatham Street, all near the westerly end of Division Street, and trains had been operating from South Ferry to 42nd Street since August 26, 1878, and to City Hall in 1880. The Second Avenue Line could not be extended without creating grade cross­ ings, which the Rapid Transit Commissioners prohibited. How­ ever, track adjustments were finally made, on March 1, 1880, per­ mitting the Second Avenue trains to operate to South Ferry, and on the same day, all Third Avenue trains were operated on its City Hall Branch, but only to the City Hall Station. A new station was erected in 1879-80, on the structures of the New York Ele­ vated Railroad Company, on Chatham Square, just south of Division Street, to accommodate Second Avenue trains routed to South Ferry. On June 19, 1882, track arrangements were made to permit the Third Avenue trains to operate again to South Ferry, without grade crossings, and also continuing their trains as before to the City Hall Station. Both lines then began to use the Chatham Square Station (south), originally built for the Second Avenue trains. In the same year, an overhead bridge was con­ structed, and opened September 25, 1882, which connected the Chatham Square Station (north), (originally built solely for the Third Avenue Line trains) with the Chatham Square Station (south), (originally built solely for the Second Avenue Line trains). This bridge permitted free transfer by the public be­ tween the Second Avenue and Third Avenue trains to South Ferry or to the City Hall Branch. All tracks of the east and west side lines, Second Avenue, Third Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Ninth Avenue, finally converged at the South Ferry Station, enabling a passenger to make a free transfer to any one of these lines, and to connect directly with the Staten Island, Bay Ridge, and Hamil­ ton Ferries. Our readers may be interested in the old methods of collecting fares and lighting the elevated railroad cars. In the early days of operating elevated roads, tickets were sold to prospective passen­ gers at the stations, and collected on the trains by conductors. As traffic increased, however, this caused considerable confusion, and this method of "taking up" tickets was abolished January 20, 1879. In June of 1880 came the cancelling boxes where passengers de­ posited their tickets before entering a train. The straight all-day QUARTERLYBULLETIN 17 five cent fare was introduced on all trains in October-November 1886, and then passengers deposited their tickets in a ticket box at the station exit gates, after leaving the trains. The present turn­ stiles were installed beginning in December, 1923. Originally oil lamps were used to .light the elevated cars. Gas was introduced March 28, 1883. Electric lights, such as are in use today, were introduced 1901-2. During the years 1899 to 1901, the whole system was equipped for electric traction, and since June 25th, 1903, all trains have been run by electric motive power. Space in the Bulletin does not permit our narrating the story of elevated transportation in the Bronx, and of its connection with the systems on Manhattan Island. Suffice it to say here that the Suburban Rapid Transit Company was organized in 1880, to provide rapid transit in the Bronx, followed by the New York, Fordham and Bronx Railway Company, to which the first-named company acquired title in 1886. In 1891, The Manhattan Ele­ vated Railway Company, which was then operating the Second, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Avenue elevated lines on Manhattan Island, took over all the lines of the Suburban Rapid Transit Com­ pany; and from that time through 1902, the Manhattan Railway Company had possession and control of all elevated rapid transit lines erected and operated within the limits of Manhattan Island and the Bronx. On January 1, 1903, however, the Manhattan Railway Company leased all its "railroads, properties, rights, and franchises" to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, a rail­ road corporation organized in 1902, which has since controlled and managed all those elevated lines in the Boroughs of Manhat­ tan and the Bronx. They also operate all the subway lines built under contracts 1, 2, 3.

PAINTINGS BY THE DURAND FAMILY The late Nora Durand Woodman added to the large Du­ rand collection, given to the Society by herself and others, a number of sketches and studies made by herself, by her mother, Lucy M. Durand Woodman, and by her maternal grandfather, Asher Brown Durand. These include: a sketch book of Asher B. Du- 18 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

rand, containing forty-seven nature studies; three pencil sketches made by Mr. Durand in Europe; fourteen water color sketches and four oil paintings by his daughter, Lucy M. Durand Wood­ man ; three landscapes and seven small water color studies by Nora Durand Woodman; six photographs of members of the family, and one of A. B. Durand's studio. The late Mrs. Helen Thompson Durand bequeathed to the Society a portrait, in oils, of her husband's mother, Mary Frank Durand, Asher B. Durand's second wife, painted by Asher B. Durand.

GIFTS

The following is a partial list of the gifts presented to the Society within the past three months: From Miss Virginia Berresford, the wedding dress and another silk dress, worn by her great-grandmother, Sarah Conklin (Albert- son) Case (1812-1888), of Southold, Long Island. From Mrs. J. H. Ten Eyck Burr, seven manuscript journals of Miss M. Murray, of Murray Hill, describing her travels, 1817-25. From Miss Mary Bussing, a silhouette and a photograph of Ann Van Nest, wife of John Schermerhorn Bussing; photographs of portraits of George Van Nest, Abraham Van Nest and his wife, Margaret (Field) Van Nest, and the marriage certificate, dated April 5, 1800, of Abraham Van Nest and Margaret Field. From the Grand Marshall's Office, Massing of the Colors, the record book for 1933, of the "Massing of the Colors," in New York City. From Misses Birdie and Louise Morgenstern, 442 programs of concerts, plays, and operas in New York, 1895-1932, a scrap- book relating to the theatre, 74 postcards of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission, 23 pamphlets and 2 manuscripts. From Mrs. John Godfrey Saxe, 2 indentures of boys appren­ ticed to Samuel Campbell, 1791 and 1793; 3 letters to Samuel Campbell, 1805 and 1818; and 1 letter to John Campbell, 1824. QUARTERLYBULLETIN 19

From the Society of the Genesee, Inc., 5 pamphlets and 11 menus. From the Hon. William Sulzer, a bronze bust of himself, by Elmer Hanman; a silver pitcher and a silver punch bowl, pre­ sented to him upon his retirement from Congress; an ivory gavel presented to him in Alaska; an antique Tekke-Bokhara rug; and nineteen volumes. From Mr. James I. Wyer, thirty-four manuscript bills, New York City, 1815-16.

MEMBERSHIP

The following have been elected members of the Society: Life member: Mrs. Lorraine Manville Gould. Annual members: Jeremiah Beall, William C. DeLanoy, Edwin H. Denby, Mrs. Clarence S. Postley, and Mrs. Sterling Postley. Associate members: Rear Admiral Reginald Belknap, U.S.N., Mrs. Richard Worsam Meade, and Mrs. H. Parker Rolfe.

LECTURES

April 2: "Those Were the Days," by Mr. Alvin F. Harlow. May 7: "Dutch William's (William III) Williamsburg, Vir­ ginia," with many stereopticon illustrations.

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS

March 18-April 6, Photographs of New York City in the 1880's. April 13-30, Memorial exhibition of prints, photographs, mourning badges, and broadsides, commemorating the seventieth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's death, on April 15, 1865. May 6-11, Manuscripts, pamphlets, and memorabilia illustrat­ ing the early years of the Society of the Cincinnati. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

FIRST CLASS—FOR ONE YEAR, ENDING THIRD CLASS—FOR THREE YEARS, ENDING 1936 1938 JAMES LENOX BANKS LEONIDAS WESTERVELT ERSKINE HEWITT ARCHER M. HUNTINGTON JOHN V. IRWIN HIRAM SMITH

SECOND CLASS—FOR TWO YEARS, ENDING FOURTH CLASS—FOR FOUR YEARS, ENDING 1937 1939 SAMUEL V. HOFFMAN AUGUSTUS C. HONE ROBERT E. DOWLING DEWITT M. LOCKMAN JOHN HILL MORGAN HENRY PARISH SAMUEL V. HOFFMAN, Chairman ALEXANDER J. WALL, Secretary [The President, Vice-Presidents, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian are members of the Executive Committee.]

STANDING COMMITTEES

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE COMMITTEE ON ANNIVERSARY GEORGE A. ZABRISKIE ARCHER M. HUNTINGTON R. HORACE GALLATIN DEWITT M. LOCKMAN ROBERT E. DOWLING ERSKINE HEWITT

COMMITTEE ON LECTURES COMMITTEE ON BUILDING B. W. B. BROWN ROBERT E. DOWLING LEONIDAS WESTERVELT GEORGE A. ZABRISKIE ERSKINE HEWITT B. W. B. BROWN

COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY AND MUSEUM COMMITTEE ON FINE ARTS ALEXANDER J. WALL DEWITT M. LOCKMAN ARTHUR H. MASTEN WILLIAM D. MURPHY WILLIAM D. MURPHY JOHN HILL MORGAN

COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE ON PLAN AND SCOPE ALEXANDER J. WALL R. HORACE GALLATIN R. HORACE GALLATIN JAMES LENOX BANKS HENRY PARISH JOHN HILL MORGAN

COMMITTEE ON MEMBERSHIP HIRAM SMITH AUGUSTUS C. HONE GEORGE A. ZABRISKIE

HOURS Library and Museum, 170 Central Park West Open Week days, 10 A. M. to 5 P. M.; Holidays 1 to 5 P. M. Annex No. 1, 5 West 76th Street, open Wednesdays, 2 to 4 P. M. Annex No. 2, 4 West 77th Street, open Saturdays, 2 to 4 P. M. Buildings Closed: Christmas, New Year's, July Fourth, Thanksgiving, and during the month of August