A Visit to the New York Subway Museum

Photos by Will T Rogers

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Contact photographer William Rogers

 

The New York Subway Museum is in an old subway station (Actually it's called the Transit Museum)

 

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How to get to the Transit Museum (Subway Museum) of New York located in Downtown Brooklyn

 

You pay to enter at a vintage change booth; original fare on subway was 5¢, which lasted from 1904 to almost 1950

 

The NYC Subway Museum lives at the old Court Street station in Brooklyn

 

Once called the "Iron Maiden"

 

Have a seat

 

In the museum, but not a NYC subway train

 

 

Color abounds in some places under the streets

 

Pay your fare!

 

Notice how nicely people dressed to ride the el trains back then

 

Get change for the fare

 

Long ago destination (maybe to the 1939 World's Fair?)

 

 

 

Subway train signal

 

Subway caboose?

 

Feel free to enter and sit in a 1920s subway car

 

Or try this more modern car

 

 

Are those air conditioning vents on ceiling?

 

Car made partly of wood

 

Overhead fans were important in the summer

 

Care to take a seat at City Hall subway station?

 

Another view of the "Iron Maiden"

 

Vintage New York subway map showing only "BMT" lines (Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Company)

 

Easier to walk between cars

 

One vintage advertising cat and one contemporary museum cat

 

Model of one of the old "el" trains on either 9th, 6th, 3rd, or 2nd Avenues

 

The subway cars display original subway ads from 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

 

Some of the products advertised no longer exist!

 

Try buying this today!

 

He looks a little young

 

Today's Heinz Spaghetti can is not that different from this 1930s one

 

This product lasted!

 

Propaganda ad to encourage everyone to do their part in the World War 2 effort!

 

Could they have called them Krispy Krackers?

 

Five cents a cake!

 

Patriotism mixed with product promotion

 

 

Still looks good today

 

Notice the phone number beginning with Plaza (PL-3-2700)

 

Age knows best!

 

Standard Oil doesn't exist today

 

 

 

Some companies have staying power

 

Probably during World War 2 (No shorts or turned-around hats)

 

Most of the bridge and tunnel tolls are 25¢ or 10¢

 

Sounds nice

 

The ad seeks to make people feel comfortable with the new idea of a large suspension bridge

 

May still be in business at a different location

 

Notice the names of the warships over the names of the nearest subway station

 

Now that's a good price! There is still a wine company by that name

 

WNYC when radio was king

 

WNYC today

 

Classic subway ad; there used to be gum dispensing machines in the subway

 

Subway Museum is located in Downtown Brooklyn at the above intersection

 

 

Three landmarks to help you find the museum

Landmark 1: Look for the Transit Authority building across the street from the museum

 

Landmark 2: Two blocks away is the Borough Hall building

 

Landmark 3: Back entrance to Borough Hall

 

 

Arrow points to New York Transit Museum (Subway Museum) at Schermerhorn Street & Boerum Place

See Hoyt & Schermerorn station lower right (A, C, G trains); see Borough Hall station just above (2 , 3, 4, 5 trains); see Court Street station above and to the left (R, W trains)