Looking east across Delancey Street towards the Williamsburg Bridge, 1907. The Delancey family was once one of the city’s most powerful families. Stephen Delancey, a French Huguenot, came to the city in 1686 and became an incredibly successful merchant. In 1719, he built a stately brick home at the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. In 1762, this became the Queen’s Head Tavern, which was later operated by Samuel Fraunces as #FrauncesTavern. The Delanceys owned a considerable amount of land to the north of the city, with a summer residence located near the #Bowery and Delancey Street. In the 1760s, the family laid out streets on the 300 acre farm, centered around a large square modeled on the private parks in #London (it was bound by Eldridge, Broome, Essex, and Hester Streets). Several of the streets were opened, but the square was not built, as plans for development were interrupted by the #AmericanRevolution. Most of the Delanceys were staunch Loyalists. James and Oliver Delancey equipped and lead a group of Torys, known as the Delancey Brigade, who primarily guarded Long Island and occasionally launched raids into New England. Following the war, the family fled the city, and their vast estate was confiscated and sold piece by piece. The eastern part of the farm bordering the river was soon covered in #docks and warehouses, but the western side became a fashionable residential district, attracting the well-to-do through the 1850s. After the #CivilWar, the grand mansions gave way to rows of #tenements. By the turn of the 20th Century, the #LowerEastSide was one of the most crowded areas in the world, with more than a half a million people per square mile. The Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903, and #subway service began in 1904. The kiosks in the foreground provided access to the underground Essex Street #trolley terminal. Trolleys ran over the bridge until 1948, when they were replaced with bus service #NYC #DelanceyStreet #WilliamsburgBridge #traffic #commute #transit #history #NYChistory #DiscoveringNYC
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