It's not hard to remember this van.

This guy is awesome.

Closed since Hurricane Sandy

This is the end of the line in Canarsie — the L train's terminal station. For much of the first half of the 20th century, however, there was a trolley extension that carried passengers from this point down to the old Golden City amusement park on the shores of Jamaica Bay. You can see some pictures of Golden City here, and read an article about its opening day in 1907 here (referring to one of the park's premier attractions, King Pharaoh, a sub-headline reads: "Educated Horse Sells Pictures").

From the station here on Rockaway Parkway north of Glenwood Road, the trolley ran along a private right-of-way, curving south for a couple of blocks before settling into a nice, straight course a little east of, and paralleling, East 95th Street. Looking at aerial photos, you can still see traces of the trolley route: an oddly shaped building oriented diagonally to the street grid; a curving backyard tree line; a slender, slanting mid-block parking lot. There are also some tangible remnants to be found: the pole near the right edge of this photo is one of several old trolley utility poles in the area that have been turned into lampposts.

A fixture on Rockaway Parkway for many years

The parlor's been closed for more than two years, but the sign's still hanging in there. To quote a post from last March:

After struggling for years, all the NYC OTB parlors were finally shuttered in late 2010. A considerable number of them, however, have managed to eke out a pathetic sort of survival, courtesy of the sluggish economy: their signs and logos, or at least traces of them, still adorn many of the vacant, unrented storefronts that once housed the parlors. The former customers, of course, have had to move on, but what has become of Jesus Leonardo? Not to worry, friends: he just keeps on keepin' on.

One of Canarsie's many vestigial alleys