How did People Travel in NYC in the late 1800s/early 1900s? (New York: transfer to, neighborhoods)
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I mean before the modern subway systems were in place, how did people get from say Bensonhurst to Midtown or from East New York to Flushing? How long would trips like that take? Or what about something extreme like going from the Tottenville in Staten Island to City Island?
How long did those cross-city trips take back in the late 1800s and early 1900s and how did people do them? How about in other cities? What if you needed to get from the South Side of Chicago to the North Side?
I'm just curious about how people traveled within the city limits back then and if the trips just weren't taken or if they took an entire day to complete.
The earliest forms of mass transit in cities were the horse-cars, which were trolleys pulled by horses. Then came street railways, which in Manhattan were elevated. These would have been the main means of mass transit before the subway began operating around the turn of the 20th century. Horse drawn cabs were ubiquitous until they were replaced by motor powered ones.
Most people in the late 1800s did not travel around cities/metros as we do today. They lived closer to where they worked and mostly walked to their jobs or to their do their errands/keep appointments.
Of course, cities were smaller in populations than they are today, too. Many of the neighborhoods throughout NY started out as small villages/hamlets in the 18th and 19th centuries that were eventually absorbed by the growing city. Until 1898, too, "NYC" meant only Manhattan because the "outer boroughs" were independent cities/counties, but all of the boroughs had lots of undeveloped land within their borders except Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1888 IIRC but before that the only way to travel between boroughs was to take a ferry.
Businesses also tended to be more localized, too, and one of the reasons that "central business districts" developed was because businesses needed to be physically close to other businesses in order to facilitate communications. While telephones were available in the 1880s, physically getting a document from an office in one building to an office in another building quickly meant using people to deliver it.
I mean before the modern subway systems were in place, how did people get from say Bensonhurst to Midtown or from East New York to Flushing? How long would trips like that take? Or what about something extreme like going from the Tottenville in Staten Island to City Island?
How long did those cross-city trips take back in the late 1800s and early 1900s and how did people do them? How about in other cities? What if you needed to get from the South Side of Chicago to the North Side?
I'm just curious about how people traveled within the city limits back then and if the trips just weren't taken or if they took an entire day to complete.
Hours. Also note that NYC was smaller then only encompassing Manhattan and the South Bronx. Means of transportation was either by walking horse Carriage , and ferry. Vanderbilt used to ferry people to and from Staten Island to Manhattan as during his younger years.
Hours. Also note that NYC was smaller then only encompassing Manhattan and the South Bronx. Means of transportation was either by walking horse Carriage , and ferry. Vanderbilt used to ferry people to and from Staten Island to Manhattan as during his younger years.
Brooklyn was around back than as well, just as a separate city.
In the 1800s folks didn't travel as much. Communities and cities were more self contained. When you did need to travel the railroads were everywhere. Back then railroads didn't cross the Hudson so folks from NJ would transfer to river ferries just like Staten Island folks do today. NYC & NJ metro had no less than 9 different railroad companies that moved freight and passengers.
The 1900s brought significant change. Most of the major bridges and tunnels were completed in the early part of that century.
There were trains before the subway system was around, Manhattan had elevated going up and down by the 1870s. The BMT Brighton Line (current B/Q) from Prospect Park to Coney Island was built in 1878 — but its main service was take New Yorkers to the beach, not many lived much below Prospect Park; it hadn't been developed yet. Flushing was a village, it grew up around the time the 7 train arrived. Prior to tunnels, one had to take a ferry to connect between Brooklyn and Manhattan trains — the Brooklyn Bridge carried trains but they terminated at Park Row, so if you wanted to continue further into Manhattan you'd need to switch.
Electric streetcars carried routes not covered by main railways or Els. While most didn't commute long distances, both Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope were rather affluent, with many workers probably working in Lower Manhattan offices, commuting by foot or train to a ferry.
There were trains before the subway system was around, Manhattan had elevated going up and down by the 1870s. The BMT Brighton Line (current B/Q) from Prospect Park to Coney Island was built in 1878 — but its main service was take New Yorkers to the beach, not many lived much below Prospect Park; it hadn't been developed yet. Flushing was a village, it grew up around the time the 7 train arrived. Prior to tunnels, one had to take a ferry to connect between Brooklyn and Manhattan trains — the Brooklyn Bridge carried trains but they terminated at Park Row, so if you wanted to continue further into Manhattan you'd need to switch.
Electric streetcars carried routes not covered by main railways or Els. While most didn't commute long distances, both Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope were rather affluent, with many workers probably working in Lower Manhattan offices, commuting by foot or train to a ferry.
Ohhh so are those what all those dilapidated train tracks are throughout upper Manhattan and the Bronx? Just former railroad lines that were eventually no longer used in the 20th century?
Ohhh so are those what all those dilapidated train tracks are throughout upper Manhattan and the Bronx? Just former railroad lines that were eventually no longer used in the 20th century?
I think you are talking about Metro North. It just looks dilapidated.
There were trains before the subway system was around, Manhattan had elevated going up and down by the 1870s. The BMT Brighton Line (current B/Q) from Prospect Park to Coney Island was built in 1878 — but its main service was take New Yorkers to the beach, not many lived much below Prospect Park; it hadn't been developed yet. Flushing was a village, it grew up around the time the 7 train arrived. Prior to tunnels, one had to take a ferry to connect between Brooklyn and Manhattan trains — the Brooklyn Bridge carried trains but they terminated at Park Row, so if you wanted to continue further into Manhattan you'd need to switch.
Electric streetcars carried routes not covered by main railways or Els. While most didn't commute long distances, both Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope were rather affluent, with many workers probably working in Lower Manhattan offices, commuting by foot or train to a ferry.
During that time Brooklyn was a city of its own and downtown Brooklyn was the civic center for all of the city of Brooklyn. Much of Brooklyn's residents worked in Brooklyn. The affluent Brooklyn residents worked primarily in downtown Brooklyn. Also Williamsburg was also known for banking during the 19th century and even rivaled wall Street at a time. A good number of Brooklyn residents worked in downtown Brooklyn compared to the long commute or rail and ferry into Manhattan. Most of the ferry business was mainly industrial goods going to and from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
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