The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad was a street railway company in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. It owned and operated a system in 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...

, and became part of the Metropolitan Street Railway.

The Avenue C Railroad was chartered June 3, 1874 (or December 18, 1868 ), and its original line, the Avenue C Line

Avenue C Line (Manhattan)

The Avenue C Line, also called the Houston Street Line, is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Houston Street and Avenue C from TriBeCa to Kips Bay...

 from the Green Point Ferry at the foot of East 10th Street

10th Street (Manhattan)

10th Street is an east-west street from the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan to Avenue D in the East Village. East of Sixth Avenue it changes heading, from east-northeast to east-southeast. Traffic is eastbound as far as Tompkins Square Park, of which it marks...

 mainly along Avenue C, Houston Street, and West Street to the Pavonia Ferry

Pavonia Ferry

The Pavonia Ferry was a ferry service which conveyed passengers between New York City and Jersey City. It was launched in 1854. It was sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for what was considered a low price of $9,050, at New York City Hall, in February 1854.In February 1859 Nathaniel...

 at the foot of 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...

, opened on October 18, 1869. By 1879, it had extended its line north on Avenue C from 10th Street, west on 17th Street

17th Street (Manhattan)

17th Street is an east-west running street between First Avenue and Eleventh Avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west excepting the stretch between Broadway and Park Avenue South, where traffic runs in both directions.17th Street...

 and 18th Street, north over the Central Park, North and East River Railroad (First Avenue and East Belt Line) on Avenue A

Avenue A (Manhattan)

Avenue A runs from north to south and is the westernmost of the avenues to be defined by letters instead of using the numbering system in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Avenue A runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to...

, 23rd Street

23rd Street (Manhattan)

23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...

, and 1st Avenue, west on 35th Street and 36th Street, north on Lexington Avenue

Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)

Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...

, and west on 42nd Street

42nd Street (Manhattan)

42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...

 to Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...

. The Third Avenue Railroad also used the trackage on 42nd Street by 1884. On June 3, 1874, it was merged with the Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad to form the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad.

It began leasing other lines in 1892:

• Sixth Avenue Railroad, February 1, 1892
• Ninth Avenue Railroad, April 12, 1892
• Central Park, North and East River Railroad, October 14, 1892 (also leased to the Metropolitan Crosstown Railway at the same time)
• Twenty-Third Street Railway
  Twenty-Third Street Railway
  The Twenty-third Street Railway was a street railway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. It was originally operated as horse cars and later electric traction...
  
  , April 25, 1893
  • Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad, leased to the 23rd Street Railway January 10, 1876
• Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad, June 30, 1893
  • Broadway Surface Railroad, leased to the Broadway and 7th Avenue Railroad in 1889
• South Ferry Railroad, June 30, 1893

On November 29, 1893 the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad was merged (with the Broadway Surface Railroad and South Ferry Railroad) into the Metropolitan Street Railway. The properties were leased to the Interurban Street Railway in 1902, renamed the New York City Railway in 1904. The Metropolitan Street Railway became independent in 1908; the Central Park, North and East River Railroad was separated (and later acquired by the Third Avenue Railway

Third Avenue Railway

The Third Avenue Railway System was a street railroad system in New York City in the 19th and early 20th century.-History:The principal company was the Third Avenue Railroad Company from 1853 to 1910, when it was succeeded in reorganization by the Third Avenue Railway Company...

), while the other companies stayed with it.

Lines

The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad operated the following lines:

• First Avenue and East Belt Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad
• 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...
  
  , from the South Ferry Railroad and Sixth Avenue Railroad
• Seventh Avenue Line
  Seventh Avenue Line (Manhattan surface)
  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...
  
   and 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...
  
   from the Broadway Surface Railroad and Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad
• Ninth Avenue Line, from the Ninth Avenue Railroad
• West Belt Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad

• 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...
  
  , from the Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad
• Avenue C Line
  Avenue C Line (Manhattan)
  The Avenue C Line, also called the Houston Street Line, is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Houston Street and Avenue C from TriBeCa to Kips Bay...
  
  , its original line
• 23rd Street Crosstown Line, from the Twenty-Third Street Railway
  Twenty-Third Street Railway
  The Twenty-third Street Railway was a street railway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. It was originally operated as horse cars and later electric traction...
  
  
• 59th Street Crosstown Line, from the Central Park, North and East River Railroad