Tuesday, April 07, 2026

NYC Transit Museum

Friday was my birthday, so on Saturday we took a field trip to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

In downtown Brooklyn, we went to see the transit museum, which--appropriately--is located underground. 

I didn't know this, but the first leg of the subway (beneath Manhattan) was built in 1904. Over 7,000 workers for a 1.5 mile length of track. 

Given working conditions back then, I don't know how anyone survived.

You can click on this (and any of these photographs) for a larger image:

















Here's a selection of employee badges from many different eras (as the subway has been expanded almost continuously for the last century):

















When I first saw this next exhibit, it seemed wild. Why would your employee badge have a designated hospital on it in case of compression sickness? Then I remembered--from an earlier exhibit--that Irish, Italians, and blacks were the primary frontline workers. Because of segregation and ethnic discrimination, I'm almost certain there would have been different hospitals for each group.

















Here's a beautiful poem:

















I don't remember who did this lithograph (I think it's a lithograph), but it's spectacular:












This is one of those underrated museums that seems to be around every corner here.

posted by Bill Harris @ 4:06 PM

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