BMT Lexington Avenue Line

Lexington Avenue Elevated
A 1924 BMT route map; the Lexington Avenue El is at center.
Overview
Other name(s)BMT Lexington Avenue Line
OwnerCity of New York
Termini
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemBrooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation
Operator(s)Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation
History
Opened1885–1893
Closed1889 (Park Avenue Elevated)
1950 (section west of Gates Avenue)
Technical
Number of tracks2
CharacterElevated
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

Fulton Ferry[1]
closed 1904
York–Washington Streets
closed 1904
Bridge Street
closed 1904
Fifth Avenue Line
via Hudson Avenue
Navy Street
closed 1889
Cumberland Street
closed 1889
Washington Avenue
closed 1889
Myrtle AvenueGrand Avenue
DeKalb Avenue
Greene Avenue
Franklin Avenue
Nostrand Avenue
Tompkins Avenue
Sumner Avenue
Reid Avenue
Gates Avenue
Halsey Street
Chauncey Street
Eastern Parkway
Alabama Avenue
Van Siclen Avenue
Cleveland Street
Norwood Avenue
Crescent Street
Cypress Hills

The BMT Lexington Avenue Line (also called the Lexington Avenue Elevated) was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, and then the City of New York.

The original line, as it existed at the end of 1885, traveled from Fulton Ferry in Downtown Brooklyn east to East New York, passing over York Street, turning right onto Hudson Avenue (which is now a pedestrian walkway within the Farrugut Houses), left onto Park Avenue, right onto Grand Avenue, left onto Lexington Avenue, right onto Broadway, and slight left onto Fulton Street.

The structure above Broadway and Fulton Street is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line. The original structure east of Alabama Avenue in East New York still exists, although it has been rebuilt to support subway cars, which are heavier than the former elevated cars. The remaining elevated structure is the oldest such structure in the subway system.