Smith Street Line (surface)

The Smith Street Line was a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running mostly along Ninth Street and Smith Street between Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn. Originally a streetcar line, and later the B75, it is now split between the B57 (Cobble Hill section) and B61 (Park Slope section) bus routes. The B61 is operated by MTA New York City Bus' Jackie Gleason Depot in Sunset Park, and the B57 is dispatched from the Grand Avenue Depot in Maspeth, Queens.

History

The entire line, along Prospect Park West, 9th Street, and Smith Street from the 9th Avenue Depot to downtown Brooklyn and through to Fulton Ferry, was opened in June 1862 by the Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad.^[1][2] The Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad acquired the line at some point, and by 1897 it was through-routed with the Coney Island Avenue Line (leaving the line to the 9th Avenue Depot at Prospect Park Southwest).^[3] Buses were substituted for streetcars on February 11, 1951, and at some point southbound traffic was moved from Smith Street to Court Street, replacing the Court Street Line (which had been part of the Myrtle Avenue Line).

References