May 17, 2004: Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
Back in 1980, Bob Diamond discovered the oldest subway tunnel in the world under Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The tunnel had been built for the Long Island Railroad in 1844 to relieve traffic congestion. It closed in 1859 for political reasons, and was sealed a couple of years later. It persisted mainly as an urban legend until Diamond rediscovered it. Later on, he founded the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association to protect the tunnel. The BHRA leads occasional tours into the tunnel, and Liz managed to snag some tickets for tour on Sunday. I'll mainly let the pictures speak for themselves- but I was very impressed with the size of the tunnel, and with Bob's narration of the history of the site. [Related: A better history of the tunnel]
GREAT photos! Tunnel photography was a challenge for me...these are the best shots I've seen in a while.
I thought I recognized you in the crowd, but I wasn't sure, since we met only very briefly at the photoblogger event. I'm in the last picture on the left with the two cameras dangling from my neck.
My pictures will be online this week, but since I shoot film, I have to get them developed. I know... *so* 20th century.
I'll post a link or a Trackback when they're up.
That tour was great--the tunnel is fascinating and Diamond's talk equally so.
Awsome!!! Holy cow, I wish we had tunnels big enough to take a tour of here.