Three Brooklyn Race Tracks in 1913: What Happened to Kings Highway?

In the map below, I brought in the 1913 Street Railway Map that shows interesting features besides the then running streetcar lines.  The former Brooklyn race tracks, the Gravesend, Brighton and Sheepshead Bay were still around according to the map, but mapped under different names.  Notice that the Gravesend Race Track near Gravesend Avenue (Mcdonald Avenue) had a different shape than what I posted earlier.  Perhaps the land was being developed.  I looked closely and on the 1913 grid, I did not see  Kings Highway which is the northern boundary of the former race track.  I then brought in the modern street grid and it shows the position were it should be, eventhough I am slightly off due to georeferencing problems.  The Nostrand Avenue Trolley, which according to the 1913 map is slightly off from my grid, but it shows that it ends at Avenue T before it reaches the Coney Island Jockey Club ( formerly the Sheepshead Bay Race Track?).  It is possible that the 1913 map has some errors in it if it is missing Kings Highway.  The trackage on Nostrand Avenue may have been single tracked between Kings Highway and Avenue T at this time and Nostrand Avenue ended before reaching the race track. To be continued.   The picture below the map comes from a picture website called http://www.brooklynpix.com.  This 1915 picture shows the right of way of the Culver Line on McDonald (then Gravesend Avenue) facing north from Avenue T.  If you look to the right, you can make out the extensive race track buildings that were still in existence at that time and probably little land development took place by that time.  The present day steel elevated did not open to 1919.

The Coney Island Elevated Railway and the Brighton Beach Race Track

Source:http://arrts-arrchives.com/CIElevatedRY.html

http://arrts-arrchives.com/CIElevatedRY.html
 

Please find attached a picture of an early elevated railway in Brooklyn which is not well known.  Hopefully I will provided more information about this railway in the future. The C.I.E.R.  is not really a traditional elevated line but a elevated railway on stilts.  It crossed Ocean Parkway at the bridge shown towards the left of the picture.  It was electrified with third rail and used wooden elevated equipment and its right of way was close to the present day BMT Brighton Line on Brighton Beach Avenue.  It predated the present day elevated structure on Brighton Beach avenue by many years.  The picture comes from a historical  site on the web mentioned above which has all sorts of goodies dealing with maps of the area.  Connected with this railway was the Brighton Beach Race Track which way situated between Coney Island Avenues and Ocean Parkway just north of today's Brighton Beach Avenue.  The streets in the area are not the same today..  Incidentally, when I did a seach of a 1924 aerial of the area, nothing remains of the Brighton Beach Race Track by 1924 because of new housing construction in the 1920's.

Some dates:  Tenatative and need to be verified.

Service began on 6/27/1881 using steam engines.

1897-1898 Electrified using third rail.

2/2/1899 Ownership by Kings County Railroad ?

1900 Service ended and surprisingly, tracks were relaid on the surface!

  

1924 Aerial of the area shown below.  No sign of Brighton Beach Race Track above Brighton Beach Avenue which is the almost horizontal line with two platforms (white rectangles) at Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenues (Brighton Beach Station).

1924 Aerial View with Comments