Your Local Subway Station

[Beverley Road Station BMT.], 12/31/1958, V1974.4.1414; John D. Morrell photographs, 1974.4, Brooklyn Historical Society.

The New York Times reported recently that subway fares are increasing again in March. Pictured above is my local subway stop, the Beverley Road Station, in 1958. Back then, a singe ride fare would cost a mere $0.15, compared to $2.75 with the most recent increase. The Brighton Line (Q train) which serves Ditmas Park and Flatbush follows the old Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Railroad. It was later purchased by Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) and was originally intended to be built as an elevated railway.

It was Ditmas Park developer Lewis Pounds's idea that the BRT run in an open cut through Flatbush. This layout, and hiding the trains from view, helped develop the neighborhood into the residential district that it is today. To learn more about the history of Flatbush, be sure to check out the Brooklyn Historical Society's Flatbush Neighborhood History Guide available at our book store.

Former Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society) assistant librarian John D. Morrell donated this photograph, along with over 2,000 others, to the institution's photography collection. His photographs focused primarily on buildings and street scenes all over Brooklyn, particularly in the years 1958-1963. To see more of Morrell’s photographs, check out our gallery here.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. photos@brooklynhistory.org