1925 Kennard Thomson Plan for 39th St. Thoroughfare, New York City

This is a set of diagrams drawn in 1924 - 1925 by H.H.S. Phillips and T. Kennard Thomson proposing a tunnel to create a 'great thoroughfare' along 39th St. at the intersection of 5th Ave. in Manhattan. They were part of a wider effort by Thomson and other urban planners to alleviate congestion in Midtown Manhattan at the time.

A Closer Look

The two plans present an overhead view and cross-sectional drawings of the proposed open cut and tunnel beneath 5th Ave. The recessed areas would be dedicated to automobile traffic bypassing 5th Ave., while lanes on either side would be for traffic turning onto 5th Ave. (which ran in both directions at this time). The sidewalks would remain at their existing level but be modified to form pedestrian 'arcade sidewalks.'

Thomson was an enthusiast of layering streets according to different functions - the present plans are a precursor to his much more ambitious plan in the late 1920s for a four-levelled distribution along major streets to divide automobile, train, and pedestrian traffic (see below). The open cut method was far less expensive than building subways or proper tunnels, and, although less elaborate than some of Thomson's other plans for New York, this scheme was motivated by the same desire to address major problems of urban congestion with bold and pragmatic solutions.

Kennard Thomson's Ambitious Urban Plans

In the early 20th century, Manhattan faced many of the same challenges as today - limited space, soaring real estate values, overpopulation, and gridlock traffic congestion. Kennard Thomson believed that engineering would come to the rescue. His solutions, including tiered avenues (as here, and more extensively in our NoMoreSubways-kennardthomson-1927) and massive landfills (NewManhattan-kennardthomson-1930), were novel and futuristic but in no way the crackpot fantasies of a maverick visionary. Kennard Thomson was a highly respected engineer, having pioneered innovations in pneumatic caissons, worked on countless major urban infrastructure projects, and spoke regularly at the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Publication History and Census

These manuscript maps were drawn by H.H.S. Phillips (most likely the H.S. Phillips noted as 'the chief draughtsman of the main drainage section of the Department of Works, Toronto' in a 1915 issue of The Canadian Engineer) and Thomas Kennard Thomson between 1924 and 1925. Thomson's use of the title 'Consulting Engineer' suggests that these plans were meant to be presented to the city government. As manuscript works, they are entirely unique. These diagrams are jointly owned with Boston Rare Maps.