Which New York City Subway tunnel was the first to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn?
Answer
Joralemon Street Tunnel
The Joralemon Street Tunnel was the first New York City Subway tunnel to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Opened on January 9, 1908, it carried the Interborough Rapid Transit Company’s trains beneath the East River between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. The tunnel formed part of the original IRT route to Brooklyn, extending subway service beyond Manhattan’s first lines.
The tunnel contains two separate tubes, one for each direction. Its opening preceded several other East River subway crossings, including the Clark Street and Rutgers Street tunnels. It is sometimes confused with the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, but that later tunnel was built for road traffic, not subway trains.
Today, the Joralemon Street Tunnel is used by the 4 and 5 trains. Its opening was an important step in turning the subway from a Manhattan system into a regional rapid-transit network.