Atlantic Ave. Special

Atlantic Ave. is closely tied to the history of the Long Island railroad. There are some terrific websites dedicated to the LIRR and it is not my wish to duplicate that work. I recommend aRRts aRRchives to those who wish to see more. The LIRR was first constructed at ground level, then a portion went elevated in 1903. In 1943 the el portion was moved underground. These photos, from the Brian Merlis collection, mostly date from right before and after the removal of the el.

Atlantic and Georgia, 1942
I'm going to run this series west to east. The first shot is a view of the northwest corner,looking west ,and shows the work underway.
Atlantic and Georgia, 1943
Essentially the same view, looking west, 1 year later with the work complete.
Atlantic and Pennsylvania, 1944
A weaker version of this image has been on the site for awhile. Visit the Pennsylvania Ave. page to see shots over time of this intersection.
Atlantic and Van Siclen, 1940,1938
The photo on the right is from arrts-arrchives, and though essentially the same shots 2 years apart, arrts' photos shows the name of the coal company, Luzerne. That photo, from 1938, is incorrectly identified as east of Hendrix. The Brian Merlis image on the left clearly shows the Van Siclen sign. Luzerne had their own rail connection to the elevated tracks, and though I have not confirmed it I assume they delivered coal to the Ridgewood pumping station. Also note the pre-Exxon "Esso" station.
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Atlantic and Jerome, 1943
Brian actually has this photo labeled as 1940 but the absence of the el would place this picture no earlier than 1943.The northwest corner building was the Vienna Flats apartments. There is an up to date picture in Zone 5. The view is west; on the left is the Borden Milk plant. I don't have much history on that yet.
Atlantic and Warwick, 1940
A view of the southwest corner, looking west. Some neat details; a cigar/candy store, a barber pole, and the Warwick Diner as you move down the block. On the very far left you can see the street is closed off with a "play street" sign. Anyone know if that was for St. Michael's?
Atlantic east of Warwick, 1920
Two views east down the elevated LIRR tracks, the stacks of the pumping station are visible in the distance. Advertising on the right hand side; Cowperthwait was a furniture and bedding store, Knorpp Candy visible in the distance, and even further down "Weisglass" is visible past Logan. In the shot off the platform, I'm curious about the building on the right, the southeast corner of Ashford and Atlantic. It has a prominent flagpole and flag above it, and the men on the corner appear formally dressed.
Atlantic and Ashford, 1940
A view looking north, towards Atlantic. From Arrts Arrchives.
Atlantic and Cleveland, 1940
The first view is of the southwest corner, looking west. You can see the Ashford Garage from the above picture, and in the distance the sign for the Warwick Diner. That's the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. on the corner. The second shot is looking north towards Atlantic. I was able to make out "Oakland Fur Dyeing" on one of the trucks.
Atlantic and Essex, 1940
We all remember Willies Lemon Ices a few doors down, but his first location was on the southwest corner of Essex and Atlantic. After Willy moved, this location became Barney's Candy Store. The second shot is the northwest corner. Eleanor Deliberti's brother alerted us that this was a section office for the Sanitation Dept and Charlie Witte confirmed that- back when the area was District#41 for the Sanitation Department. Charlie worked with Tony Danza's father Matty in sanitation and reminds as that their name was actually Ladanza.
Atlantic and Crescent, 1923
If I have it right, the El would come to ground level around Chestnut St. This view is north; you can see the Jamaica El in the distance. It appears the switching station was still there in 1923, something to investigate. Its hard to see, but the building on the northeast corner has a sign on the wall advertising the "Brooklyn Baseball Club".