New York Transit Museum

Below the busy streets of downtown Brooklyn you’ll discover an intriguing world from past generations. The New York Transit Museum offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of those who came before us and the now-vintage transportation they relied on.

Housed inside a 1936 subway station, the museum opened in 1976 as a way of preserving the history of transportation. Every artifact is carefully displayed to give visitors a firsthand look at how drastically transportation has evolved over the years and the many steps which engineers and designers took to get there.

Exhibits and Artifacts

At the New York Transit Museum you can see this transformation through artifacts, videos and photographs. For a captivating look at tunnels from 100 years ago, along with challenges that faced the workers who labored to build them, visit the Steel, Stone and Backbone exhibit. Also, visit On the Streets to learn about above ground transportation from the 1800s to the present, including displays of the fishbowl bus cab, crosswalk signs, parking meters and a 12-seat city bus.

In the Trolley and Bus Study Center you will find a neat display of over 50 intricately designed scale models of trolleys and work cars. From there, drop by the Fare Collection to learn how fares and turnstile designs have changed over the years.

Vintage Trains and Buses

With a selection of 20 vintage buses and railway cars you’ll see just how much transportation has changed, from small engineering tweaks to sophisticated technological advancements.

Visit the Moving the Millions exhibit to soak in the charming beauty of wooden-framed trains from 1907 and 1908 as you take a seat inside one of their classic cars. Imagine the daily commute behind the steering wheel of a 1948 bus and see the first air-conditioned bus from 1956. If you leave wishing for more, simply come back. The selection rotates, so chances are your second visit will be different than the first.

To experience what it was like to live and commute in the early 1900s and to see transportation’s great transformation make your way to the New York Transit Museum.