MYRTLE AVENUE – GOLD STREET STATION, Downtown Brooklyn

by Kevin Walsh

When the 4th Avenue BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) subway line, constructed in 1915 and extended over the Manhattan Bridge a couple of years later was competed, the Manhattan-Bridge-bound route included a station at Myrtle Avenue between 1919 and 1956. The short version of what happened to it is that the DeKalb Avenue interlocking was extended in 1956, completely eliminating the Brooklyn-bound platform and forcing the closure of the entire station. It’s a bit more complicated than that, though, and Joe Brennan explains it better on his Abandoned Stations page.

Manhattan-bound passengers can easily recognize the station because it contains the newly revived art project called “Masstransiscope” first constructed by Bill Brand in 1980 on the Myrtle Avenue platform. After a few years of decay and disuse, it’s once again been restored to its old glory.

For years in the Super Seventies, while riding past on an N train, I’d go past the dimly-lit closed station, whose cylindrical platform pillars still had “Myrtle Avenue” notation on them. But here’s a puzzler. I recently came across this photo, and as you can see, the identification tablets read “Gold Street” instead of “Myrtle Avenue.” Neither Brennan nor any other chronicler mention this anomaly, and so the floor is open in Comments about why the Myrtle Avenue station had such signage.

1/17/15

Addendum: apparently this is a very early photo because the station was called “Gold Street” for its first year or so, and was then renamed Myrtle Avenue.

Also see this excerpt from the 1915 brochure for the Sea Beach Line (today’s N train) courtesy Joe Korman.

9 comments

Jeff Morris January 17, 2015 - 12:38 am

Actually, Brennan DOES mention it, toward the end:
The 1935 Red Book Guide to New York listed Myrtle Ave as a stop on BMT several express trains, as “Myrtle & Gold”. The station was sometimes called Gold St in some early planning documents. Gold St runs north and south at the intersection.

Reply
John January 17, 2015 - 1:47 am

The Subchat message board had a thread on it back in 2007, when the picture was posted. Nothing definitive in the answers, but it did contain some possible dates and reasons for the change:

http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=390870

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Justin January 17, 2015 - 5:32 am

This is very interesting – that pic is a great find! Brennan’s page does offer a hint, and I would be the simply just wasn’t aware that the station used to say Gold Street.

“The 1935 Red Book Guide to New York listed Myrtle Ave as a stop on BMT several express trains, as “Myrtle & Gold”. The station was sometimes called Gold St in some early planning documents. Gold St runs north and south at the intersection.”

I’m pretty sure the signs on the northbound side were destroyed when the station closed, so this picture must be from the 50’s or prior. Where on earth did you come across it?

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John T January 17, 2015 - 8:56 am

Never heard of this either. I remember seeing the Myrtle station too, but I am sure the mosaics were not for Gold St (the south-bound side was gone by then).

The BRT plans for the Brooklyn side of the bridge changed over the years, and there was a Gold Street station planned. A loop back to Brooklyn was also planned, which I read was built but never used. Can’t wait to find out more on this.

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Joe Korman January 17, 2015 - 11:09 am

I never noticed that either, however I just looked at my reprint of the notice that the BRT published in 1915 for the opening of the 4th Ave and Sea Beach lines between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Here is the inside of the brochure showing the stations:

Sea Beach Opening Brochure

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Mike in fla via Bklyn January 17, 2015 - 12:43 pm

Depending on the station and where you got off the train, one side of the platform would be closer to that particular street?

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Jerry Slaff January 20, 2015 - 3:50 pm

“Myrtle & Gold”? Add some frankincense and you’ve got something.

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Claudia February 19, 2015 - 8:26 pm

My entire Brooklyn family lived on Myrtle Avenue, or within walking distance of it. The last one died in the 70s and the family moved to upstate, NY. I understand the area is nothing like it was back before the 70s.

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Richard S Jordan April 2, 2018 - 8:45 pm

Dekalb Ave tower used to be called Gold street interlocking if that means anything.

Reply

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