Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

Gnir Rednow - Joseph Cornell (1955) 

Cornell commissioned Stan Brakhage to shoot the El before its demolition, then inverted the footage to form Gnir Rednow.

3rd Ave. El (1955)

3RD AVE. EL

Robert Fleury / Joseph Tul / Osmond Beckwith / Tom Carroll / Ann Kaufman
Haydyn’s Concerto in D for Harpsichord played by Wanda Landowska 
Produced and Directed by Carson Davidson
Bob Larkin appears but is not credited. The film includes sounds of the trains and the city, but much of the soundtrack features Joseph Haydn’s “Harpsichord Concerto in D Major.” This is performed by Wanda Landowska, the celebrated Polish-born harpsichordist who played a pivotal role in reviving the popularity of the instrument.
Carson Davidson’s film was not the only professional documentary of the Third Avenue El during its last days of operation. However, it did earn recognition that the others did not. Although perhaps not well remembered today, “ 3rd AVE. EL” received an Academy Award nomination for best one-reel short subject film in 1955.

In the Street
Cinematography: Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, James Agee
Edited by Helen Levitt / Music by Arthur Kleiner

In the Street was shot in Manhattan's Spanish Harlem and originally entitled I Hate 110th Street. This initial title was taken from an image of a sidewalk chalk graffiti that opened an early version of the film. Edited by photographer Helen Levitt, the film was shot in 1945 and 1946 by Levitt in collaboration with painter/photographer Janice Loeb and writer James Agee. The film was released in 1948 and again in 1952.

"It was a very good neighborhood for taking pictures in those days because that was before television and there was a lot happening, and the older people would sometimes be sitting out on the stoops because of the heat. They didn't have air conditioning in those days.[...] So those neighborhoods were very active." 

-Helen Levitt

Here's an interview recorded with Helen Levitt by Melissa Block of NPR (2009)