Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line
Encyclopedia
The Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line or Ninth Avenue Line is a surface transit
line in the New York City
borough of Manhattan
, running mostly along Ninth Avenue
and Amsterdam Avenue from Lower Manhattan
to Manhattanville (earlier Lincoln Square). Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M11 9 (Columbus) and 10 (Amsterdam) Avs bus route, operated by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
.
and southbound on Hudson Street
. Where the route crosses 14th Street
, Hudson Street becomes Ninth Avenue, while the southbound direction jogs west on 14th Street to reach Tenth Avenue
. This one-way pair
on Ninth and Tenth Avenues, which become Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street
, continues until 110th Street
, where the southbound route joins the northbound direction on Amsterdam Avenue. Several turns - west on 135th Street, north on Riverside Drive
, and west on 145th Street
- take the M11 to its end at Riverbank State Park
. Passengers can transfer to the subway at 137th Street – City College.
in December 1853 to build from the Battery
north to 51st Street
and beyond to the Harlem River
via Greenwich Street
, Ninth Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue, and to return via Gansevoort Street and Washington Street
instead of Greenwich Street. By 1854, the company had laid tracks from Canal Street
north to 54th Street
, but, due to legal complications on the route south of Canal Street, it could not complete and open the line. The city passed a resolution on July 2, 1859 allowing the company to connect to the Hudson River Railroad's tracks in Canal Street, and run over any part of the lines of the Hudson River Railroad, Sixth Avenue Railroad, and Eighth Avenue Railroad in and below Canal Street. The line opened in late July 1859, using the shared trackage of the Sixth and Eighth Avenue Railroads from Broadway and Barclay Street along Barclay Street, Church Street
(northbound only), Chambers Street
(northbound only), and West Broadway
to Canal Street.
The line was later extended south along Washington and Greenwich Streets and east on Fulton Street
to Broadway, and north from 54th Street to 59th Street
. The beginning of a lengthy extension to the north opened on March 9, 1884, along Ninth Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue from 59th Street to 74th Street. It was extended further to 110th Street
on April 26, 1884, later to LaSalle Street, and finally to the Fort Lee Ferry via LaSalle Street, Broadway, and 130th Street.
The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad
leased the Ninth Avenue Railroad on March 12, 1892, and on December 12, 1893 the HWS&PF was merged into the Metropolitan Street Railway. Under the Metropolitan, the south end was changed to the Christopher Street Ferry, using the trackage of the Christopher and Tenth Street Railroad on Christopher Street. The Metropolitan also introduced the Ninth and Columbus Avenues Line, a combination of the Ninth Avenue Line (from the Cortlandt Street Ferry) with the Columbus Avenue Line
, a former cable railway
line, as well as the Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line, an extension of the Sixth Avenue Line
west on 59th Street
and north along the Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line. The Sixth Avenue cars, but not those from Ninth Avenue, were extended north on Amsterdam Avenue to Fort George, along the Third Avenue Railroad's Third and Amsterdam Avenues Line
, after the Metropolitan leased the Third Avenue in 1900.
In 1908, the Third Avenue was released from the bankrupt Metropolitan. The Metropolitan introduced the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line on February 17, 1908, connecting the Broadway Line
to the Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line via 53rd Street
. The Ninth and Columbus Avenues Line was later discontinued, and all Ninth Avenue cars, then beginning at both the Cortlandt Street and Christopher Street Ferries, were truncated to the intersection with 53rd Street, where passengers could transfer to the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line, Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line, and Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line.
In 1919, the Ninth Avenue Railroad was separated from the bankrupt New York Railways
, which had replaced the Metropolitan, and the Ninth Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue tracks were again linked by a single line, only shared with New York Railways cars (of the Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line) between 53rd Street and Broadway. The Ninth Avenue Railroad merged with the also-separated Eighth Avenue Railroad in December 1926 to form the Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway.
Buses were substituted for streetcars by the Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation, a New York Railways subsidiary, on November 12, 1935, and assigned the number M42. It was subsequently labeled 11 by the New York City Omnibus Corporation
when it gained control in 1936.
When Ninth and Tenth Avenue
s became one-way streets on November 6, 1948, traffic was split between 14th Street
and 110th Street
, with southbound traffic moving to Tenth Avenue south of Broadway, and northbound traffic moving to Columbus Avenue north of Broadway. The New York City Omnibus Corporation
directly took over operations in 1951, and in 1956 it was renamed Fifth Avenue Coach Lines; the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
replaced it in 1962.
Surface transit
Surface transit is a type of public transit that operates on the surface in built-up areas, usually with buses or tram systems....
line in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, running mostly along Ninth Avenue
Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)
Ninth Avenue / Columbus Avenue is a southbound thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs downtown along its full length...
and Amsterdam Avenue from 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...
to Manhattanville (earlier Lincoln Square). Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M11 9 (Columbus) and 10 (Amsterdam) Avs bus route, operated by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
The Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority is a subsidiary of the New York City Transit Authority that was created in 1962 to take over bus services from the bankrupt Fifth Avenue Coach Company and Surface Transit, Inc...
.
M11 bus
The M11 bus route begins at Bethune Street (Abingdon Square) in Greenwich Village, and starts out by heading northbound on Greenwich StreetGreenwich Street (Manhattan)
Greenwich Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Battery Park, interrupted between Vesey and Liberty Streets by the...
and southbound on Hudson Street
Hudson Street (Manhattan)
Hudson Street is a north/south oriented street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Running from TriBeCa to Greenwich Village and through Hudson Square, Hudson Street has two distinct one-way traffic patterns that meet at Abingdon Square, at the street's intersection with Eighth Avenue and...
. Where the route crosses 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
, Hudson Street becomes Ninth Avenue, while the southbound direction jogs west on 14th Street to reach Tenth Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
. This one-way pair
One-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or just couplet is a pair of parallel, usually one-way streets that carry opposite directions of a signed route or major traffic flow, or sometimes opposite directions of a bus or streetcar route....
on Ninth and Tenth Avenues, which become Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
, continues until 110th Street
110th Street (Manhattan)
110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....
, where the southbound route joins the northbound direction on Amsterdam Avenue. Several turns - west on 135th Street, north on Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
Riverside Drive is a scenic north-south thoroughfare in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The boulevard runs on the west side of Manhattan, generally parallel to the Hudson River from 72nd Street to near the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street...
, and west on 145th Street
145th Street (Manhattan)
145th Street is a major crosstown street in the Harlem neighborhood, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of the 15 crosstown streets mapped out in the Commissioner's Plan of 1811 that established the numbered street grid in Manhattan...
- take the M11 to its end at Riverbank State Park
Riverbank State Park
Riverbank State Park is a park built on the top of a sewage treatment facility on the Hudson River, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. Passengers can transfer to the subway at 137th Street – City College.
History
The Ninth Avenue Railroad was given a franchiseGovernment-granted monopoly
In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of...
in December 1853 to build from the Battery
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
north to 51st Street
51st Street (Manhattan)
51st Street is a long one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-East 51st Street:*The route officially begins at Beekman Place which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive...
and beyond to the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
via Greenwich Street
Greenwich Street (Manhattan)
Greenwich Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Battery Park, interrupted between Vesey and Liberty Streets by the...
, Ninth Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue, and to return via Gansevoort Street and Washington Street
Washington Street (Manhattan)
Washington Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Running from 14th Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Hubert Street in TriBeCa, Washington Street is, for its entire length, the westernmost street in lower Manhattan...
instead of Greenwich Street. By 1854, the company had laid tracks from Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
north to 54th Street
54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
, but, due to legal complications on the route south of Canal Street, it could not complete and open the line. The city passed a resolution on July 2, 1859 allowing the company to connect to the Hudson River Railroad's tracks in Canal Street, and run over any part of the lines of the Hudson River Railroad, Sixth Avenue Railroad, and Eighth Avenue Railroad in and below Canal Street. The line opened in late July 1859, using the shared trackage of the Sixth and Eighth Avenue Railroads from Broadway and Barclay Street along Barclay Street, Church Street
Church Street (Manhattan)
Church Street is a short but heavily travelled north/south street in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs along the eastern edge of the site of the World Trade Center destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its southern end is at Trinity Place, of which it is a continuation...
(northbound only), 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...
(northbound only), and West Broadway
West Broadway (Manhattan)
West Broadway, not to be confused with Broadway, is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan separated into two parts by a park. The northern part begins at TriBeCa Park, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Walker Street and Beach Street in TriBeCa...
to Canal Street.
The line was later extended south along Washington and Greenwich Streets and east on Fulton Street
Fulton Street (Manhattan)
Fulton Street is a busy street located in Lower Manhattan. It is in New York City's Financial District, a few blocks north of Wall Street. It runs from Church Street at the site of the World Trade Center to South Street, terminating in front of the South Street Seaport...
to Broadway, and north from 54th Street to 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
. The beginning of a lengthy extension to the north opened on March 9, 1884, along Ninth Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue from 59th Street to 74th Street. It was extended further to 110th Street
110th Street (Manhattan)
110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....
on April 26, 1884, later to LaSalle Street, and finally to the Fort Lee Ferry via LaSalle Street, Broadway, and 130th Street.
The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad
Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad
The Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad was a street railway company in the U.S. state of New York. It owned and operated a system in Lower Manhattan, and became part of the Metropolitan Street Railway....
leased the Ninth Avenue Railroad on March 12, 1892, and on December 12, 1893 the HWS&PF was merged into the Metropolitan Street Railway. Under the Metropolitan, the south end was changed to the Christopher Street Ferry, using the trackage of the Christopher and Tenth Street Railroad on Christopher Street. The Metropolitan also introduced the Ninth and Columbus Avenues Line, a combination of the Ninth Avenue Line (from the Cortlandt Street Ferry) with the Columbus Avenue Line
Columbus Avenue Line
The Columbus Avenue Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Columbus Avenue, 116th Street, and Lenox Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Harlem. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M7 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority...
, a former cable railway
Cable railway
A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
line, as well as the Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line, an extension of the 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...
west on 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
and north along the Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line. The Sixth Avenue cars, but not those from Ninth Avenue, were extended north on Amsterdam Avenue to Fort George, along the Third Avenue Railroad's Third and Amsterdam Avenues Line
Third and Amsterdam Avenues Line
The Third and Amsterdam Avenues Line, also known as the Third Avenue Line, is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running from Lower Manhattan to Fort George in Washington Heights. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M98, M101, M102, and M103 bus routes,...
, after the Metropolitan leased the Third Avenue in 1900.
In 1908, the Third Avenue was released from the bankrupt Metropolitan. The Metropolitan introduced the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line on February 17, 1908, connecting the 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...
to the Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line via 53rd Street
53rd Street (Manhattan)
53rd Street is a midtown cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, that contains buildings such as the Citicorp Building. It is 1.83 miles long. The street runs westbound from Sutton Place across most of the island's width, ending at DeWitt Clinton Park at Eleventh Avenue...
. The Ninth and Columbus Avenues Line was later discontinued, and all Ninth Avenue cars, then beginning at both the Cortlandt Street and Christopher Street Ferries, were truncated to the intersection with 53rd Street, where passengers could transfer to the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line, Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line, and Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line.
In 1919, the Ninth Avenue Railroad was separated from the bankrupt New York Railways
New York Railways
New York State Railways was a grouping of several large city streetcar and electric interurban systems in upstate New York. It included the city transit systems in Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Oneida and Rome, plus various interurban lines connecting those cities.The company was formed in 1909 when...
, which had replaced the Metropolitan, and the Ninth Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue tracks were again linked by a single line, only shared with New York Railways cars (of the Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line) between 53rd Street and Broadway. The Ninth Avenue Railroad merged with the also-separated Eighth Avenue Railroad in December 1926 to form the Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway.
Buses were substituted for streetcars by the Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation, a New York Railways subsidiary, on November 12, 1935, and assigned the number M42. It was subsequently labeled 11 by the New York City Omnibus Corporation
New York City Omnibus Corporation
The New York City Omnibus Corporation was formed in 1926. It ran new bus services that replaced the New York Railways Corporation streetcars when they were dismantled in 1935/36. It purchased the Fifth Avenue Coach Company from The Omnibus Corporation in 1954 and renamed itself the 'Fifth Avenue...
when it gained control in 1936.
When Ninth and Tenth Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
s became one-way streets on November 6, 1948, traffic was split between 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
and 110th Street
110th Street (Manhattan)
110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....
, with southbound traffic moving to Tenth Avenue south of Broadway, and northbound traffic moving to Columbus Avenue north of Broadway. The New York City Omnibus Corporation
New York City Omnibus Corporation
The New York City Omnibus Corporation was formed in 1926. It ran new bus services that replaced the New York Railways Corporation streetcars when they were dismantled in 1935/36. It purchased the Fifth Avenue Coach Company from The Omnibus Corporation in 1954 and renamed itself the 'Fifth Avenue...
directly took over operations in 1951, and in 1956 it was renamed Fifth Avenue Coach Lines; the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
The Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority is a subsidiary of the New York City Transit Authority that was created in 1962 to take over bus services from the bankrupt Fifth Avenue Coach Company and Surface Transit, Inc...
replaced it in 1962.