New York Transit Museum
99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
I’m sure most of you are also at a loss for words over the events of this week. I wish I had a magic thing to say to take everyone’s pain and fear away, but sadly I don’t. The best thing I am doing for myself moving forward is fostering community wherever I can find it. I am so eternally grateful for the little community we’ve made here, so thank you for continuing to read my ramblings (most) every week.
This will either be seen as tone-deaf or as deeply needed comedic relief, but I will be trying my best to make you laugh or at least smile once today with this newsletter. This week I’d like to talk about the place that made me first fall in love with this city - The New York Transit Museum
I am a born and raised Southern Californian who had intended on living there for the entirety of my life. When the silly boy I loved got a summer internship in New York City, I promptly threw all that out the window. The first week living here was spent continuing the hopeless search for an internship of my own and moping in bed. I was approaching dangerous levels of homesickness.
Saturday came around and that boy I mentioned earlier decided to take me on a date to lift my spirit. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and went to the New York Transit Museum. I remember the second I stepped onto the bridge, something had changed within me… something was not the same. (movie pitch: Wicked live action except it’s me and the Statue of Liberty?)
It’s hard to put into words, but I started to see the beauty of New York. The excitement, the history, the massive yet beautifully engineered structures! The museum took me, an uncertain Californian, on a journey throughout the history of New York through the lens of public transportation.
Built in a decommissioned subway terminal in Brooklyn, this museum was founded in 1976 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the subway. It holds a collection of every style of subway car used in New York, some dating back to the early 20th century!
While trains are immensely cool on their own, this place provides an up-close & personal look at New York’s and America’s development. Each car shows how design and technology have evolved over the century. Personally, my favorite is the Brooklyn Union passenger car made in 1907 for elevated tracks (featured below). They have cushioned seats, big windows, and dreamy lighting. It’s the oldest passenger vehicle in their collection!
As you go from car to car, you can see how public transportation has had to adjust to accommodate the city’s ever-increasing population. It’s funny to see how they experimented with different styles of seating and handholds. Instead of the metal bars we have now, they used to have individual leather straps. I’d like to see those annoying circus fucks that always harass the 4 train try and do tricks off of those.
Another one of my favorite things about this place is that each subway car contains an array of ads from each time period. You can see what products were poppin’ and when. You can also see when the country was at war due to the sheer volume of war bond ads. Turns out war propaganda never goes out of style! Propaganda? Isn’t that just when a British dude gets a really good look at something?
Writing these jokes makes me feel like one of the guys who were playing music while the Titanic was sinking. Alexa, play Timber by Pitbull ft. Kesha, please.
If you look closely at some of the ads, you’ll run into the Miss Subways. This was essentially a beauty contest where the headshots of various women were displayed on the ad boards in subway cars. Some posters would include a sentence or two about the contestants and why they deserve to win. Between 1941 and 1976, roughly 200 women were granted the title of “Miss Subway”. To be eligible, you had to be “a woman who was a New York City resident and who used the subway.” And hot. Some freakazoids out there may think this contest was sexist, but this freakazoid right here wants to bring it back.
God forbid I want to see beautiful women’s faces on subway ads instead of these borderline accosting Mullvad VPN ads. They are an absolute affront to the senses.
I, too, am a chatterbox & doodler
The museum also has a few exhibits on tunnel creation, turnstiles throughout the years, and buses. Maybe if they had an interactive display of the evolution of buses I would give more of a shit about that part of the museum, but they DON’T so WHO CARES? Anyway, the turnstiles are pretty cool. Also, they have a whole section on how explosives were used to make tunnels and fake (I hope) sticks of TNT on display.
Evidence of me "not caring" about buses
Walking home from this museum across the Brooklyn Bridge with downtown Manhattan in full view, I thought to myself, “Alright, let’s give it a chance.” It’s been 6 years since then and 5 of them spent living downtown. Seeing how much rich and interesting history just one facet of this city has was really inspiring to see. Not to be cheesy (I’m lactose intolerant), but it strangely made me feel connected to humanity. I hope we all can find a little bit of that this week, this year, this life (brb taking my Lactaid).
Fun Facts
Miss Subways were originally chosen by this model agency millionaire named John Robert Powers, cousin to Austin (not really, I don’t think). In 1963, they changed to public votes by postcard. The first woman to win by public vote was Ann Napolitano, girl boss slay queen executive secretary extraordinaire.
One of the most interesting facts I’ve learned here is that the bends were discovered during the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge. They created these pressurized metal tubes for people to hang out in for a day or two while their bodies adjusted. NEAT!!
More about the ads!! The Subway Sun was a series of hand drawn signs depicting proper subway etiquette from 1940 into the 1960s. Despite modern renditions spouting the same messaging, subway-goers today still take it upon themselves to defy the rules. NYC baby!
If you can, try finding something you’re grateful for today. Also, please don’t sleep on my comment section :)
Anyways… see you next week! Toodaloo!
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what if we kissed in the 1907 Brooklyn Union passanger car
Great. Now I have 2 places I need to see (little island, and this museum) should I return to NYC at some point. Propaganda. LOL!!!!
I’ve lived here for 24 years and have never been to this museum so I am officially requesting that you bring me there please and thank you
10/10 comedic relief. As you know, my favorite pastime is being entertained by Sara so this did, in fact, make me smile and laugh. I also love that there is a picture of me with my favorite sister and a video of me laughing at/with her. The transit museum is now one of my favorite New York attractions! Here is a picture of my nephew Rhys (cutest baby ever, he knows) in the NYC onesie I got him at the transit museum gift shop.
me af