Nathan Kensinger Photography

World's Oldest Subway Tunnel

July 30th, 2007 -

The Atlantic Avenue tunnel was built in 1844 and sealed in the 1860's. It was considered lost until Brooklyn's Bob Diamond discovered an entrance in 1980. The tunnel runs underneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Entry is gained through a manhole cover in the middle of a busy intersection. The tunnel was closed to the public for the last five years, but it will now be open at specific times.

Originally, the tunnel was closed for over a century. It is still remarkably intact. Brick and stone are all in place and - despite pouring rain outside - the tunnel was almost completely dry. The interior of the tunnel is eerily quiet and without light of any kind. Graffiti from the early 1900's is still legible on the walls.

For more photos of the tunnel - with the lights on - please click here.

For more about Bob Diamond and the tunnel, visit the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association.

Brooklyn Freight: Underneath Flatbush

July 28th, 2007 -

As the Bay Ridge freight line continues east on its route, it passes underneath Flatbush Avenue. A large platform being constructed overhead supports parking lots new and old, while several bridges allow traffic to flow by without allowing a glimpse of the nearly abandoned train line below.

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For more photo essays from Brooklyn's freight train tracks, please visit Underneath Bay Ridge (2007), Linden Hill Tracks (2007) and Underneath East New York (2007).

Brooklyn Freight: Underneath Bay Ridge

June 30th, 2o07 -

This set of photographs comes from the Bay Ridge Branch, a freight line running underneath Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Not only is this 130 year old train line a potential new superhighway through Brooklyn, it could also be instructive to the developers of the Atlantic Yards and the Hudson Yards. Above these still-active train tracks is a huge housing complex and private park, supported by a series of massive concrete pillars, bearing a strikingly similarity to plans for both the Hudson and Atlantic Yards. The tracks continue on towards Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

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For more photo essays from Brooklyn's freight train tracks, please visit Underneath Flatbush (2007), Linden Hill Tracks (2007) and Underneath East New York (2007).

Pillar Jungle

Concrete Platform

Between Trains

Freight, Steel, Concrete

Near the Tracks

In the Debris

The Long View

The Domino Sugar Refinery

June 6th, 2007 -

The Domino Sugar Refinery - in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - is a massive industrial complex on the East River. Shut down several years ago, Domino still houses hundreds of pieces of heavy industrial equipment. Abandoned offices, lunchrooms, science labs, locker rooms and loading bays are in one building, while another houses floor after floor of vats, boilers and furnaces. Molasses covers every surface, burnt brown sugar cakes the floor, and a sickening sweet stench pervades the entire complex. Domino is one of the last remnants of Brooklyn's historic industrial waterfront and may soon be landmarked.

Three other photographers also have shots from this expedition into the complex : F-Trainer, Blue Jake and Mercurialn.

Update: The Domino Sugar Refinery was partially landmarked in September, 2007. However, almost every area seen in the following photographs is slated for demolition.

This Way Out

Molasses and Insulation

The Locker Room

Peeling

Decayed Bay

Ground Floor

Furnace

Peeling Stairwell

Open Windows

Hatches and Columns

String Machine

Tangled

Tripod

Massive Blue Bin

Inside the Skybridge

Glass and Wire

Science Lab/"For Food Only"

Domino Tower

Sugar Coated

The view from above - Kent Street

Company Colors/Inside the Tower

Triptych

Atlantic Yards Part Three: The Electric Car Shop

The Electric Car Shop

May 22, 2007 -

Underneath Atlantic Avenue is an abandoned "Electric Car Shop." Used to repair Long Island Railroad trains, it sits in the footprint of the Atlantic Yards development site, inside the Vanderbilt Railyards. Empty lunch rooms, abandoned offices, ransacked archives, all with the lights still on. The train yard and nearby tunnels are still in use by the Long Island Railroad, but this shop seems to have been empty for years.

Other photos from the railyard have been posted on this blog here and here. More photographs of this space were also taken by Nate Dorr. For more information on this controversial construction project, visit these resources: