THIS photo from the 1940 NYC Municipal Archives of the SE corner of Jerome Avenue and East Fordham Road has been making the Facebook rounds, at least my humble corner of it, and I noticed there’s plenty of infrastructure here to talk about. On the left we see one of the original fire alarm boxes likely placed on the corner in the early to mid-1910s. It’s already gone through several illumination styles, the latest being an illuminated red glass globe.
In the center the building has an angled, or chamfered, corner, in 1940 supporting a cigar store that no doubt also sold newspapers for commuters getting on the El, now the #4 train, at the Fordham Road station.
On the right is an unusual post top lamp that has the traditional heavy cast iron base that is still used in retro versions today. Post top lamps, so common in other USA cities, were rare on NYC streets (though plentiful in the parks). Why was a post top lamppost employed here?
When you look at the same corner about 80 years later, the reason is obvious. The headroom is quite low here because the fare control area of the elevated train is directly above the street, and the city decided to use a post top because that was the best choice under the circumstances. The firebox has been updated to a streamlined version, and on the right, a “Brownie” lamp with a New Gumball lamp can be seen; there were frequently used beneath elevated trains beginning in the 1980s. The same building with the cigar store now features a pharmacy.
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1/6/22