Two of Vivian Cherry's
strongest photo essays are Riding the Third Avenue El and Tearing Down the
Third Avenue El, both done in the early 1950s. To any New Yorker over the
age of fifty-five, the elevated train line that ran the length of Third Avenue
in Manhattan, until it was demolished in 1955, was the most romantic way to
view Manhattan. Not so for the people who lived and operated businesses under
it. Third Avenue folk lived in shade all year around and the shriek of the
train wheels went on day and night for anyone buildings facing Third Avenue
were treated to an unconventional view of East Side family and business life
for more than one hundred and twenty years. New York City Guide
produced by the Federal Writers Project in 1939 suggested Harlem, Tudor City,
the Bowery and Chinatown, dingy sweat shops, flophouses, intimate glimpses
of family life, glittering rivers and skyscrapers at dusk. Its demolition
brought whole neighborhoods onto the Sidewalk to watch in wonder and finally
delight.
-Barbara Head Millstein
Curator of photographs, Brooklyn Museum of Art.