Cable car lines were the mode of transportation between the 1860s and the 1880s on 23rd Street and Broadway, but by 1878 the new Sixth Avenue elevated lines became the way to go.
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T.B. Kelley, “Riding on the Elevated Rail Road”
(Library of Congress)
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John Joseph, “New-York Elevated Railroad Galop for Piano”
(Library of Congress)
When Upton Sinclair began college he lived on West 65th street. By 1892 students attending the City College of New York were dispersed throughout the city and used the new transit system to make their way to 23rd street and Lexington Avenue.
“When the weather was Fair, I rode to college on a bicycle; when the weather was stormy I rode on the Sixth Avenue Elevated and walked across town. I took my lunch in a little tin box with a strap: a couple of sandwiches, a piece of cake, and an apple or banana.” (Autobiography, pgs. 24-25)
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Map showing distribution of student population in 1892.
R.R. Bowker, The College of the City of New York 1847-1895, p.14 (Baruch College Archives)
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“Broadway and 6th Avenue looking south from Greeley Square” 1899.
(The New York Public Library)