In the photo above, a trolley saunters up Broadway past the Beacon Theater between 74th and 75th Streets. The photo is for sale on eBay, and the owner says it was taken in 1947. Most New York trolleys began to get phased out in the 1930’s, according to the New York Transit Museum, but a few survived into the 50’s.
Another trolley is visible in this shot by Arthur Hosking from 1920 taken on 79th Street looking North. It’s part of a series of photos on Broadway that we published.
To participate in Throwback Thursday, please send us a photo, preferably by email to westsiderag@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should be “Throwback Thursday.” In the email include the photo and a brief description of who is in it and where it’s taken and when.
The best way to send an older photo, if you don’t have your images scanned, is to scan them into your computer or take a photo of the photo with a phone or digital camera. We’re not looking for perfect clarity, just a good sense of the image and some information. If this isn’t an option email us and we’ll figure out how to get a digital version of the image. (And yes, we’ll even accept photos from after 2000.)
Check out our other Throwback Thursday posts here.
Can anyone make out what’s on the Beacon marquee?
The entire thing reads:
Rex Harrison in Noël Coward’s
Smash Color Hit “Blithe Spirit”
“It’s Great to Be Young”
which most likely refers to two films from that era, the second being in black & white:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blithe_Spirit_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Great_to_Be_Young_(1946_film)
The last line says “It’s Great to be Young”
Love the Zabar’s building in the bottom photo in the upper left corner . Still the same after all these years . Strange design for sure
Excellent color pic!
Every so often a pothole appears on the West Lane of the Northbound Lanes at 78 street and B’way (crosswalk adjacent to Marshalls). Last time this pothole was open (last fall), the rails for the trolleys that ran along B’way were visible. I was a very nostalgic moment.
The Trolley’s tracks are still there…and the trolley doesn’t
change lanes. Let’s make Broadway traffic civil again.
beautiful pic.
I went on line to buy this photo ($21.99) on EBay. Someone already snapped it up. Too bad.
WSR should make a deal with the buyer to print reproductions. I’ll bet a lot would be sold.
That was my business before retirement. If someone can find out who bought it, I’ll take on that project.
There’s a cool free app called Photoscan, it’s super easy for scanning vintage photos. FYI.
the trolley pictured does not appear to have a mast connecting it to a power line. every street car i ever rode in was powered by electricity, but i never rode a trolley in new york.
does anyone have an explanation?
The Broadway trolleys did not have an overhead catenary. Power was supplied by a pickup underground via a slot that ran between the two tracks. No unsightly overhead wires but sometimes a problem with shorting in a rainstorm.
Manhattan trolleys were powered by electrical wires in underground conduits (between and below the two tracks). Trolleys in the other boroughs had overhead wiring and poles.
Check out https://forgotten-ny.com/1998/09/trolley-poles-around-town/ for photos of some remaining trolley poles. That website has lots of info about trolley remnants in NYC: https://forgotten-ny.com/category/trolleys/
i should add that i mean powered by electricity from overhead wires, which also do not appear in this photo.
As a child riding on the trolley was a joy. My memory is that
there was an operator seat at each end and the trolley would
turn around at Columbus Circle and go back uptown. I’m
pretty sure that the backs of the seats were reversible so that everyone was facing front when the trolly turned around.