When Delancey Street Was Widened in 1904 [PHOTOS]
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Photo: Museum of the City of New York
You’re looking eastward down Delancey Street from the approximate vantage point of the Bowery. The Second Avenue El and Williamsburg Bridge are just visible in the distance. But in the foreground, this roadway is a total mess.
It’s 1904, and the city is amidst a project to widen Delancey on the approach to the newly-erected East River crossing. The goal is to create a large enough traffic artery to feed the bridge. From Mayor Low’s Administration in New York:
On May 29, 1903, the board of estimate and appointment voted to widen Delancey and Suffolk Streets, and to extend Delancey Street to Elm Street (eventually incorporated into Lafayette). Delancey and Suffolk Streets are each now 50 feet wide. Delancey Street will be widened to 150 feet between Clinton Street and the Bowery. West of the Bowery to Elm Street, it will be 80 feet wide.
The completion of the Williamsburg Bridge is promised in early 1904.
Note the sign that says “Removed to 151 Bowery.” Classic.
[h/t The Old New York Page]
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