Getty Museum
Third Avenue El
Creator
Ralston CrawfordAmerican Photographer · 1906–1978
All works by this person →The son of a ship's captain, Ralston Crawford's life and career were marked by wanderlust. He worked at various jobs before becoming a sailor himself, from 1926 until 1927. After studying art in Los Angeles, he briefly held a job as an illustrator at Walt Disney's studio. Crawford spent the next decade traveling widely and studying art, meeting with early success in exhibiting his work. Primarily
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- negative 1949; print 1960s
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Culture
- American
- Department
- Photographs
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Viewed from below, the tracks of New York City's Third Avenue El possess an abstract rhythm that echoes the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. Introduced in New York during the 1870s, elevated railroads were a popular form of transit that made it possible for residents to commute quickly to work from areas once considered remote. While riding the El to and fro, passengers could enjoy the city views. In time, however, subways replaced the elevated trains, and passengers' attention shifted from the exterior landscape to the interior. The Third Avenue El closed in 1955, six years after Crawford made this photograph.
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