Queensboro Bridge Trolley Kiosk - New York, NY - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The plaque says, "The Kiosk at the Tram Plaza on Roosevelt Island is one of the five original kiosk that first identified the entrance to staircases at the trolly station at 59th Street and Second Avenue. These staircases led to the underground trolly car stations that were positioned at the Manhattan entrance to the Queensboro Bridge. The kiosk entrances date from the bridge's construction in 1909. The trolley system of five lines connected several Queens neighborhoods to Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge.

One trolly was the "Bridge Local." It started at 59th Street and passed over Blackwee's Island (now Roosevelt Island), where it stopped to discharge and accept passengers from the roof of the Storehouse station. The nine-story elevator building was on the exact site where you are now standing. The trolly then proceeds to Vernon Avenue and Queens Plaza, where the carriages turned around for the return trip.

The Bridge Local trolley line rode on the tracks located on the outer roadway of the lower level of the bridge. Queens-bound trolleys used the southern roadway, after exiting the underground station; Manhattan bound trolleys used the northern roadway and entered the station under 60th Street. The trolley service ended in 1957, with the opening of the bridge to Welfare Island (originally named Blackwell's Island, now Roosevelt Island). The storehouse elevator building was demolished in 1970. Of the five original kiosks, three were demolished. One remains at its original site at 59th Street and Second Avenue. It was restored by the City of New York Department of Transportation in 2005.

Our kiosk was transported in 1970 to the Brooklyn Children's Museum where it served as the main entrance. In the lat 1990s, the museum planned a new entrance and the kiosk faced demolition. Roosevelt Island Historical Society President Judith Berry intervened and worked with the Museum and several city agencies to relocated this unique piece of New York City transportation history near its original home and extend its useful life with a new purpose: as the Roosevelt Island Historical Society Visitor Center.

In January 2005, the kiosk we transported by truck to Roosevelt Island, where it awaited a concrete foundation that would support its 68,000 pounds. In October 2006, the kiosk was lifted by crane and installed onto its new home.

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society Visitor Center kiosk opened in June 2007 and has welcomed thousands of visitors to the Island.

The Kiosk was temporarily closed for restoration work in April 2010 and had its redecoration in December 2010."

Group that erected the marker: Roosevelt Island Historical Society Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: New York, NY URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   01/14/2019 bluesnote visited it