New York Transit Museum

November 20, 2024

Holiday nostalgia rides on vintage NYC subway cars are back this December

Step back in time and embark on a festive journey aboard an old-school New York City subway car this holiday season. The New York Transit Museum's beloved Holiday Nostalgia Rides, which includes eight cars from the 1930s that ran along lettered lines through the late 1970s, will run every Sunday in December from 2nd Avenue on the uptown F platform and 96th Street on the downtown Q platform.
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September 16, 2024

Celebrate 120 years of the NYC subway with a new exhibit and vintage train rides

The New York Transit Museum is celebrating the 120th anniversary of the city's subway system with a new exhibit and vintage train rides. Debuting September 26, "The Subway Is..." explores how New York City's subway system has shaped its cultural identity and will showcase images and artifacts from the museum's collections. To coincide with the new exhibit, the museum is hosting four Inaugural Run Nostalgia Rides on vintage Lo-V subway cars from 1917, retracing the original route of NYC's first subway line.
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May 30, 2024

Reach the beach: Vintage subway trains will ride to the Rockaways and Coney Island this summer

Beach and boardwalk-bound New Yorkers can ride to the shore in vintage style this summer. The New York Transit Museum announced two "nostalgia rides" in July and August that will bring beachgoers to Coney Island and the Rockaways via R-19 train cars from the 1930s. Tickets, which cost $60 for adults, go on sale Friday, May 31.
details this way
March 14, 2024

Ride a vintage NYC subway car to the home opener at Yankee Stadium

Baseball lovers can travel to Yankee Stadium in retro style aboard vintage NYC subway trains. The New York Transit Museum is running its beloved 1917 IRT Lo-V train and Train of Many Colors on Friday, April 5, offering baseball fans a special way to arrive at the Yankees home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. The event is free with subway fare and departs from Grand Central Terminal at 11 a.m., giving Yankee fans more than enough time to catch the first pitch at 1:05 p.m.
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November 6, 2023

Vintage NYC subway rides are back every Saturday during the holidays

The New York Transit Museum's Holiday Nostalgia Rides are back this season. Every Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Yorkers can embark on old-school NYC subway trains in Manhattan from 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line platform and 145th on the downtown D line platform. The Holiday Nostalgia rides include eight cars used in the 1930s.
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March 30, 2023

Ride a vintage subway car to Yankee Stadium for the home opener

Yankee fans headed to the team's home opener on Thursday can arrive in the Bronx in style. The New York Transit Museum will run its historic 1917 IRT Lo-V train and the beloved Train of Many Colors from Grand Central-42nd Street to 161st-Street Yankee Stadium. The trains will depart at 11 a.m. sharp, giving eager baseball fanatics plenty of time before the first pitch at 1:05 p.m.
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February 14, 2023

Tours of NYC’s old City Hall subway station return this spring

After a three-year pandemic hiatus, in-person tours of New York City's abandoned City Hall subway station are returning this spring. The station, which is where the first ever subway ride departed in 1904, has been decommissioned since the 1940s. The New York Transit Museum has exclusive access to the station and offers 90-minute tours that explore its ornate vaulted Guastavino tiled ceilings, chandeliers, and skylights. Tickets will go on sale this March and are only available to members of the museum.
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November 28, 2022

Ride vintage subway trains in NYC every Sunday this holiday season

Holiday Nostalgia Rides, the New York Transit Museum's beloved tradition, has returned to the city for the first time in two years. Every Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Yorkers will be able to ride vintage subway trains that will depart from Chambers Street and 137th Street-City College stations and make express stops on the local 1 line track. The Holiday Nostalgia Train will feature the Train of Many Colors, a selection of different vintage subway cars from the 1960s representing different eras of the subway system's history.
Travel back in time this holiday
September 9, 2022

Travel back in time on vintage NYC subway trains this month

Here's a rare opportunity to ride on some of New York City's oldest subway trains spanning over a century of the city's transportation history. The New York Transit Museum's Parade of Trains returns this month, offering transit buffs a chance to travel on four historic trains from the museum's collection of vintage fleets. The rides will run continuously from Brooklyn's Brighton Beach B and Q express train platforms from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 17 and September 18. Admission is free with subway fare.
See more here
February 13, 2020

Fascinating photos show the 20th-century construction of NYC’s subway system

A new photo exhibit at the New York Transit Museum provides a unique look at the construction of the city's subway system, as well as its enduring impact. Opening Thursday, Streetscapes & Subways: Photographs by Pierre P. and Granville W. Pullis shows what it was like before and after the subway system was constructed, as well as the architectural and cultural changes occurring simultaneously above ground.
See the photos here
November 27, 2019

Every Sunday during the holidays, ride a vintage 1930s subway around NYC

Every Sunday between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the New York Transit Museum will run its Holiday Nostalgia Rides, departing from the 2nd Avenue F train station. The 1930s R1-9 train cars have a "Depression-Era Art Deco aesthetic," complete with "rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements," the announcement tells us.
See the full schedule
October 4, 2019

Take a 102-year-old subway to playoff games at Yankee Stadium this weekend

New York Yankee fans headed to the Bronx this weekend can get to the stadium on trains that were in service during Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth's tenure with the team. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will run an express vintage 1917 Lo-V train on Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5 from Grand Central to 161st Street, kicking off the Yankees' postseason run in historic fashion.
All aboard
July 18, 2019

Nostalgia trains to roll into Coney Island this weekend

This weekend, both history buffs and New Yorkers looking to hit the beach can ride on one of the NY Transit Museum’s vintage subway cars. Part of the museum’s “Nostalgia Rides,” on Saturday, passengers can board 1910s BMT B-Type Standards and 1930s IND R1-9 cars and ride them from the 96th Street/2nd Avenue station in Manhattan all the way to Coney Island.
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March 27, 2019

Ride to the Yankees home opener on a 102-year-old subway train

Baseball fans headed to the New York Yankees home opener this week can arrive in the Bronx via a transportation method almost as old as the team itself. On Thursday, the New York Transit Museum is rolling out its 1917 IRT Lo-V train to run from Grand Central to 161st-Street Yankee Stadium, allowing Bronx-bound passengers to travel back in time before officially kicking off the 2019 baseball season.
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March 15, 2019

Photo exhibit shows 10 years of subway cars dropped in the Atlantic Ocean to become artificial reefs

By now you may have seen Stephen Mallon’s mind-bending photo series showing thousands of decommissioned NYC subway cars being tossed into the Atlantic Ocean. The MTA initiative was undertaken more than 10 years ago with the goal of creating artificial reefs that would support sea life along the eastern seabed. The amazing photo series, briefly on view at NYU’s Kimmel Galleries, documented the train cars being heaved into the briny deep from Delaware to South Carolina over three years. Now, a new exhibit, "Sea Train: Subway Reef Photos by Stephen Mallon," opening March 20th at the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery, features 19 large-format photographs that capture the iconic subway cars, dropped like toy trains from hulking barges as they're being deployed as sea-life-sustaining artificial reefs,
More amazing photos and their story, this way
January 9, 2019

NYC’s 10 best offbeat and hidden museums

New York is home to world-class institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, and MoMA. But this city’s museum scene has more to offer than just the Temple of Dendur—in fact, it’s full of smaller, way funkier spots serving up found art, oddities, and history, including the history of this ever-odd city itself. Here are 10 of our favorites.
Start exploring
December 18, 2018

Ride back in time on vintage NYC trains and buses this holiday season

Feeling whimsical? Holiday Nostalgia rides are back this season, with vintage train cars and buses replacing regular service through New Year's. The New York Transit Museum invites New Yorkers and visitors alike to celebrate the magic of the city during the holidays with train rides that run along the F line from 6th Avenue to 47th-50th-Rockefeller Center, with stops at stations like Columbus Circle and 125th Street, all spots known for being major holiday shopping centers.
Roll this way
October 5, 2018

INTERVIEW: Take a ride with Concetta Anne Bencivenga, director of the New York Transit Museum

Concetta Anne Bencivenga wants you to visit the New York Transit Museum. After coming on as the museum's director early last year -- following Gabrielle Shubert's impressive 24-year run -- she's become "cheerleader in chief," in her own words, excited to promote the museum's exhibits and programming to a wide range of New Yorkers. With 6sqft she discusses how her diverse background brought her to the Transit Museum and what the past of New York's public transportation can teach us about moving forward. She also talks about the revamp of an existing exhibit, the introduction of new ones, and her goals moving forward as director. Do you know why the MTA subway system is featured so prominently in early comic books? Keep reading, as Concetta shares the reasons why public transit is so crucial to New Yorkers lives -- in both the obvious and more surprising ways.
Meet Concetta
June 12, 2018

Ride six different vintage trains in Brighton Beach this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day

Is there anything more dad-approved than trains and tattoos to celebrate Father’s Day? Not much! This weekend, celebrate with pop at the New York Transit Museum’s 4th Annual Parade of Trains. Hop on and off six different types of vintage train cars, including the oldest train cars in the Transit Museum fleet, dating from 1904. Visitors can also stop by the museum’s membership station to get a super cool, Father’s Day temporary transit tattoo while learning more about the New York Transit Museum's ongoing exhibits. The event takes place Saturday (6/16) and Sunday (6/17) from 11 am to 4 pm at the Brighton Beach (B/Q) station. The Parade of Trains shuttle rides are free with the swipe of a MetroCard and will run continuously to and from the Brighton Beach station B/Q platforms.
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May 15, 2018

The buzz on Boerum Hill: How an iconic Brooklyn neighborhood blends old and new

Shelly Place, an agent with Triplemint, describes Boerum Hill as “the perfect blend of old and new. Geographically, it is smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, convenient to downtown [Manhattan], and close enough without being in the middle of the hustle and bustle. You can go days or weeks without ever leaving Boerum Hill but, if you want, you have the rest Brooklyn right there.” Known for tree-lined streets filled with historic brownstones, Boerum Hill is one of those unique neighborhoods that has successfully blended past and present in a way few communities have been able to. There are a ton of great restaurants and creative cocktail lounges and independent specialty stores alongside the big brands, like Apple, Whole Foods’ 365, and Lululemon, lining Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. And with a slew of new contextual developments springing up, it's time to turn your attention to the buzz on Boerum Hill.
Everything you need to know about Boerum Hill
April 6, 2018

Travel uptown on a WWI-era subway to mark the 100th anniversary of Woodlawn station

Before the Woodlawn station opened a century ago, the surrounding area of Norwood in the Bronx was mostly rural with lots of farmland. While residential development began with the opening of the Woodlawn Cemetery, the neighborhood's transformation really took off when the subway was extended to reach this part of the city. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first train pulling into the northern terminal of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, the New York Transit Museum is giving guests the chance to travel on World War I-era cars to relive this important part of subway history.
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April 7, 2017

The Urban Lens: Sid Kaplan shares historic photos of the Third Avenue El coming down

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. This week’s installment comes courtesy of a new exhibit at the Transit Museum, "Deconstruction of the Third Avenue El: Photographs by Sid Kaplan." Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at tips@6sqft.com. After the city consolidated its underground subway lines in 1942 (they were previously owned by private companies), fewer New Yorkers were riding the elevated lines. This decreased ridership, along with the fact that the Els ate up valuable street-level real estate and created dangerous dark spaces, led to the city taking down the Second Avenue Elevated line in 1942. In 1955, the Third Avenue Elevated came down as well, catching the eye of a then 17-year-old Sid Kaplan, whose photos of the dismantling are currently on display at the Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery Annex. The museum tells us, "From his perch on the roof of an apartment building, or leaning out the window of an office, his images capture a unique perspective of the removal of a hulking steel structure, the hard-working people who dismantled it, and the ever-changing landscape of New York City."
More on the El history, Sid's work, and all the amazing photos
February 9, 2017

Art Nerd New York’s top event picks for 2/9-2/15

In a city where hundreds of interesting events occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Ahead Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer shares her top picks for 6sqft readers! Love is in the air with Valentine's Day around the corner, and Times Square is proving that Love Trumps Hate with a day of weddings, engagements and of course public art. Brookfield Place is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year with a site specific installation by Amy Kao, and the New York Transit Museum is celebrating the long-awaited opening of the Second Avenue Subway. The Center for Architecture is highlighting 20 talented African American Architects, and there's a 6,000-pound ice spectacle to be found in Central Park. More details on these events and a flurry of others ahead.
More on all the best events this way