Elevated rail road, showing Angel's Curve" New York"

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Angel's Curve, the bend in the elevated railroad shown here, was a notable stretch of track in New York City, where steam locomotives on iron trestles ran above busy streets. By about 1883 the elevated lines were a fixed part of city transit, carrying passengers over crowded avenues and changing how residents moved through the city. The old caption notes mention goat and pony carts, a reminder that animal-drawn vehicles still shared the roadway beneath the iron structure. The photograph was copyrighted by Charles Pollock of Boston, and parts of its record are unverified, so the scene is best read as a document of the streetscape of the period.

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