42 Years Ago Today The Third Avenue El Took Its Last Ride

This 1926 photograph (credit unknown) shows the Third Avenue El at 149th Street and Third Ave in Melrose. When the El was dismantled in Manhattan in 1955, this became the southernmost terminus of what remained of the El.
This 1926 photograph (credit unknown) shows the Third Avenue El at 149th Street and Third Ave (facing west towards Courtlandt Avenue) in Melrose. When the El was dismantled in Manhattan in 1955, this became the southernmost terminus of what remained of the El. Many of the buildings seen here along 149th Street still stand as does Immaculate Conception Church on 150th and Melrose Avenue.

 

Although long gone from our borough, the Third Avenue El continues to live in the consciousness of Bronxites near and far.

42 years ago today, the Third Avenue El ran for the last time and eventually dismantled leaving parts of Melrose without access to the subway and swaths of Morrisania, Tremont and other areas it ran through without any service at all.

An old map depicting existing and now extinct subway lines and stations from 1939. (Click to enlarge)
An old map depicting existing and now extinct subway lines and stations from 1939.

It was, perhaps, one of the biggest failures and mistakes of the MTA to get rid of an entire line but they were in line with all the rest of the city, state, and federal agencies that abandoned The Bronx.

Take a Ride Back in Time Along The Third Ave El Through The Bronx

Between 1970 and 1980, when the service ended, The Bronx had lost almost 400,000 people mostly in The South Bronx.

Today, our population has reached just shy of our historic high and the epicenter of the growth in population is the Melrose and Morrisania areas.

Over 5,000 apartments have been constructed and hundreds of homes as well in less than 10 years leaving these areas to suffer from lack of decent transportation and overcrowding of buses and subways.

Our Mayor recently announced that a new subway extension be created in Brooklyn, but what about bringing back the Third Ave El, perhaps, this time around underground?

Residents desperately need a better alternative than the congested streets and bus lines that run down Third Avenue nowadays.

What do you think about perhaps reviving the Third Ave Line?

Also, do you have memories of the Third Ave El?

Ed García Conde

Ed García Conde is a life-long Bronxite who spends his time documenting the people, places, and things that make the borough a special place in the hopes of dispelling the negative stereotypes associated with The Bronx. His writings are often cited by mainstream media and is often consulted for his expertise on the borough's rich history.