Artist: John Opper (American, 1908–1994)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed lower left and verso
Dimensions:
30.125 x 24 inches
Description:
The Ninth Avenue El was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in July 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, as an experimental single-track cable-powered elevated railway from Battery Place, at the south end of Manhattan Island, northward up Greenwich Street to Cortlandt Street. By 1879 the line was extended to the Harlem River at 155th Street.
The Ninth Avenue El exteended over 100 feet above the street at "Suicide Curve", where the line made two 90-degree tturns above 110th Street. In 1905, the worst accident in the history of New York's elevated railways took place at a curve at 53rd street, resulting in 13 deaths and 48 serious injuries. The main line ceased operation in June 1940.
Type of Work: Paintings
