By Chrissy Ringel, Research Historian
Think about the last time you were on public transportation. Why were you there? Were you running errands, or commuting to work or school? Exploring a city and living out your tourist dreams? For many people, public transportation has become a mundane part of their day and is often overlooked as a service that has been around for decades. But for some systems, like the New York City Subway, it has grown into something beyond just public transportation. As the NYC Subway celebrates its 120th anniversary this October, it’s also a celebration of New York’s intertwining system that brings the city together physically, and culturally.
THE CONCEPTION OF THE NYC SUBWAY
Newspaper clipping from The Sun on October 23rd, 1904.
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) won a fifty-year operating lease with the city and began construction on the first NY underground transit system in 1900. After four years of construction, the Subway officially opened October 27th, 1904. The initial Subway line ran through Manhattan from City Hall to West 145th Street.1 Local newspapers proclaimed it to be “the finest subway in the world,” as it included unique artistic and architectural features.2
However, not everyone loved the subway system. Many newspapers within the first month criticized if for health concerns, like bacilli bacteria and a lack of clean air in the subway system. One newspaper claimed it was “gutter air at best”3 and included an image of bacteria-filled gelatine plates that were briefly exposed to Subway air. And yet, the next day, the same newspaper ran an article claiming, “Two weeks’ operation proves subway a success.”4 The initial fears of disease, collapse, and reliability ultimately lessened and gave way for high ridership and further expansion.
Image from Newspaper article “Bacilli Invade the Subway” showing bacteria from the subway growing on gelatine plates. From the New York Tribune, November 13th, 1904.
A FEW DECADES OF EXPANSION AND CONSOLIDATION
From 1904 to 1925, private corporations ran the Subway and continued to expand the system. The IRT extended it into the Bronx and Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) shifted from railroad lines to subway lines in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The IRT and BRT, though competitors, signed dual contracts with the city in 1913 to build out and improve existing subway lines in the area.5 Though these contracts were beneficial for the rapid expansion of accessible transportation across the city, the stipulation of a set five-cent fare cost eventually led to BRT’s bankruptcy, and many of its subway lines were assumed by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) in 1923.6
Elevated railroad station, New York and Brooklyn Bridge entrance. Print made by Charles Magnus & Company.
By 1925, there was yet another NYC subway system was being built in multiple NYC Boroughs: the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND). John F. Hylan, the New York City Mayor from 1918 to 1925, did not like private companies having a near monopoly over the citywide transit system. He led initial construction of the IND.7 The Subway quickly became integrated in daily life and consistently expanded its reach across the city. With the expansion of a city-owned transit and high ridership, the IRT and BMT hemorrhaged money with the set fare cost. By 1940, the city bought out the IRT and BMT. With all the lines now under the control of the city, there could be one, efficient, standardized, rapid transit system throughout the five boroughs.8
MID-CENTURY SUBWAY ADS
With one unified subway system, there was a new wave of marketing, publicity, and communication with the public. The subways, unsurprisingly, were filled with advertisements for goods and services along with various types of posters advocating for transit etiquette dating back to the early 1900s (which the NY Transit Museum has permanent exhibit on which can be read about here). These advertisements were on display for the thousands of people who rode the subway daily, but not necessarily seen. The New York Subways Advertising Company believed they needed a campaign that would “give the passengers something to read with, not instead of, the advertisements – something that would intensify their interests.”9 Their solution? Miss Subway!
This campaign started in 1941. Not only did it highlight the diverse women of New York, but it also highlighted the importance and appreciation of working women during World War II.10 Every other month the advertising company would select a Miss Subway by nomination. In later years, Subway riders voted to select each Miss Subway. The program highlighted the diversity, accomplishments, and aspirations of women across the city who happen to ride the subway.11 Some of the women chosen were college students, army nurses, dancers, receptionists, aspiring actresses, medical assistants, and teachers. It was a public endorsement of women’s goals and contributions beyond the household, and left riders inspired and invested in the various Miss Subways. This campaign was wildly successful in drawing attention as it increased interest and invested in everyday riders of the Subway.
The campaign officially ended in 1976. In the decades since, there have been multiple reunions of past Miss Subways. In 2004, there was an honorary Miss Subway, Caroline Sanchez-Bernat, crowned in honor of the one-hundred-year anniversary of the Subway.12 In 2013, the NY Transit Museum opened an exhibit Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941-76 that included the original Subway advertisements alongside photographs of the same women in modern day. In recent years, there has been a revival of Miss Subways led by The City Reliquary (a Brooklyn museum and civic organization), but with a larger focus on pageantry and modern culture. It is safe to say that what started as a way to draw riders’ eyes to advertisements quickly became engrained in NYC culture. In the words of American pop singer and songwriter Chappell Roan, it’s a femininomenon!
“TM 7738 (8232725435)” by Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Photo of past Miss Subways posing with their original Miss Subway posters at the New York Transit Museum’s opening for their exhibit: Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941-76.
DECADES OF CRIME AND… ART?
1973 photograph by Jim Pickerell of the graffiti covered NYC subway car. Photo from the National Archives and Records Administration.
By the 1970s, NYC, like the rest of the nation, was plagued by severe economic and political issues, unemployment, industrial decline, and cuts to various services and social programs.13 The Subway suffered and was one of many hotspots for violent crime, theft, and vandalism. Though there was a massive uptick in crime, the NYC Subway still had the ability to bring people together culturally. Though graffiti may be vandalism to some, to others it is a way of expression, creativity, and connectivity among communities. In 2019 the Bronx Museum had an exhibit Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977-1987 that focused on capturing the “visual anthropology” of graffiti culture in New York during this period.14 The ephemerality of subway graffiti, captured through a series of photographs by Henry Chalfant, share the story of how this cultural artform grew from the Bronx and out into the world.15
CAPTURING AND IMPROVING TODAY’S CULTURAL TRANSIT
In the decades since, the NYC Subway has focused its efforts on maintaining and modernizing its systems, and in doing so have often incorporated cultural elements to it. Most of the modernization done to the Subway has been for safety reasons, accessibility,
NYC City Hall Station, built in 1904 and closed in 1945. It can be visited today through the NY Transit Museum. Photograph from the Library of Congress.
and sustainability, but there are often opportunities to incorporate the culture and community of New York. Many stations have beautiful stained-glass artwork, mosaic murals, or futuristic architecture designed by local artists. Safe to say many aspects of the Subway are reminiscent of the artistry of its initial creation, which gained it the title of “finest subway in the world” in the first place.16
It’s no question that now more than ever the Subway has deeply rooted itself in the heart and culture of New York. It is easy to find apparel decorated with subway maps and the iconic yellow MetroCards; it frequently appears in shows, movies, and musicals; and it, of course, has a strong presence on social media. It’s one of the great wonders of New York that tourists must traverse to genuinely experience the city: to see the busking artists, experience the delays, even catch a glimpse of a pizza rat! There are entire exhibits, archives, and museums dedicated to this cultural phenomenon of people and transit.
The one hundred and twenty years of service have allowed the Subway, city, and its people to become intertwined and adapt alongside each other. It has become a reflection of the people who ride it and has proven itself to be the embodiment of the New York mindset: a bit crazy or chaotic, but with the grit, resilience, and culture of the city itself. Maybe that’s why we love it so much. In the hustle and bustle of such a large and diverse city, it’s incredible to have a public service so engrained in the history, culture, and community of its people. Despite the subway’s issues of the past, present, or future, it still deserves the love and support it receives from its users and beyond.
Here’s to another 120 years of service, NYC Subway!
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Notes:
[1] https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/history/moments/1904-subway
[2] 1904 10 23 Finest Subway (The Sun)
[3] 1904 11 13 Bacilli Invade Subway (NY Tribune)
[4] 1904 11 14 Operation Proves Success (NY Tribune)
[5] https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/macbride13/research/timelines/new-york-city-subway-timeline/, https://topviewtix.com/new-york/history-of-the-new-york-city-subway?srsltid=AfmBOopdS3ha1jAuGXdg-wR2Rd901eRpcpWxm_u4jUrNHDcCbUXvec6q, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Rapid_Transit_Company
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Rapid_Transit_Company
[7] https://topviewtix.com/new-york/history-of-the-new-york-city-subway?srsltid=AfmBOopt13joBHS79TsgN-cDwwGDiPfIyGbzHK3xGFNO9XhPGNQ3aBdF, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Francis_Hylan
[8] 1938 07 30 Transit Unification (Daily News)
[9] 1942 04 10 Meet Miss Subways (Barnard Bulletin)
[10] https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/nyregion/thecity/miss-subways-subversive-and-sublime.html
[11] https://www.misssubwaynyc.com/miss-subway/
[12] https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26/nyregion/after-a-28year-hiatus-miss-er-ms-subways-is-back.html
[13] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/blackout-gallery/
[14] https://bronxmuseum.org/exhibition/henry-chalfant-art-vs-transit-1977-1987/
[15] https://bronxmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/FINAL__Henry_Chalfant_Press_Release.pdf
[16] 1904 10 23 Finest Subway (The Sun)
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