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Suicide Curve
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The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association
December 10, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
This is a fascinating view of Central Park North and Frederick Douglass Blvd when the ‘subway’ was still elevated.
Note the total lack of any buildings nearby (this was ~1890) and the rough grading of the road underneath the tracks.
On the back of the photo (available on Ebay) you can just make out “Manhattan Elevated R.R. Harlem N.Y.
The work is clearly unfinished. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the curve (in the photo) as yet,
leads to nothing.
In upper Manhattan, the line had to accommodate the changing landscape; the 9th Ave El was over 100 feet above the street at "Suicide Curve", the portion of the El that made a 90-degree turn from 9th Ave onto 110th St. and another from 110th St. onto 8th Avenue.
Marcus Garvey Park Tree Lighting
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