By Forum Staff
The New York Transit Museum announced on Tuesday plans for the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the New York City subway system with a new exhibit, The Subway Is…, opening on Sept. 26 at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.
The museum will also host four Inaugural Run Nostalgia Rides on vintage Lo-V subway cars from 1917, retracing the original route of New York’s first subway line.
According to the Metroplitan Transportation Authority, The Subway Is… uses historic artifacts, photographs, and multimedia installations, the delve into the subway’s significance as a revolutionary idea that forever changed urban transportation. It traces the challenges of constructing the subway through the city’s varied topography, highlights the diverse workforce of immigrants who built the system, and celebrates the subway’s role as both an engineering marvel and a work of art.
The Subway Is… also reflects on how the subway has served as New York’s circulatory system, connecting its residents across boroughs, fostering cultural exchange, and enabling the city to grow and thrive. From the early days of public transit advertising to the Poetry in Motion campaign, the exhibit showcases the subway’s unique ability to inspire and communicate with its riders.
The museum will offer four special Nostalgia Rides on the museum’s vintage 1917 Lo-V subway cars. These rides will take place on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Passengers will journey along portions of New York’s first subway line, which originally opened on Oct. 27, 1904, providing a rare opportunity to experience New York City as it was 120 years ago.
Departing from the decommissioned Old South Ferry Station, the train will travel north along the 1/2/3 line to the Bronx before returning via the Lexington Avenue line. Passengers will have the unique chance to pass through the famous Old City Hall Station and conclude the journey at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station. This round-trip ride “immerses participants in the sights and sounds of the original subway experience, offering a nostalgic glimpse into New York’s transit history” according to the MTA.
“Very few things exist that are as synonymous with New York as our subway. Whether you hear a snippet of the sound of a train or catch a quick glimpse of a station or a subway car, you know you’re in New York City,” said museum Director Concetta Bencivenga. “Celebrating this incredible milestone anniversary offers an opportunity to explore the myriad ways the subway has transformed our region over the past 120 years and encourages us to ponder what might be in store for the next 120.”
Additionally, the museum will activate a city-wide social media campaign on Subway Day, Oct. 27. Throughout October, special collaboration posts will be featured on the New York Transit Museum’s Instagram account, leading up to a unique initiative inviting museums, parks, journalists, New Yorkers and visitors alike to share their thoughts on what the subway means to them by completing the sentence: #TheSubwayIs…This campaign will encourage everyone to reflect on and share their personal connections to our transit system.
