This Day In History- 27 Oct
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “City Hall Subway Station, New York” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1906.27 Oct 1904—This day in history—All eyes were on New York City as Mayor George McClellan took the reins of the city’s revolutionary new transportation system: the subway.
Although London had already established the oldest underground train network in 1863 and Boston opened the first subway in the United States in 1897, all eyes were now on New York, which quickly became home to America’s largest and most advanced subway system.
The IRT, also known as the Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, was New York City’s first subway company. It was created in response to elevated train lines that were popping up all over the city. The idea was to construct an underground rapid transit railway system to alleviate street traffic and aid in the growth of new areas of New York, as stated by NYCsubway.org.
A massive crowd of 7,000 people swarmed around City Hall as 200 policemen struggled to maintain control. Some individuals forced their way into the underground entrance. According to The New York Times, both sections of the train were overly packed, with approximately 1,100 passengers squeezed into every car.
Now, 118 years after its opening, riding the train is a mundane activity, and the City Hall Station is no longer accessible to the general public. In 1945, only a few decades after its opening, it was shut down because its curved platform could not accommodate the IRT’s newer, longer train cars. Yet, it continues to be mesmerizing and serves as a reminder of how monumental it was back then to journey underground and board a train.
More information can be found at Contemplating and Commemorating Rapid Transit in New York City | Museum of the City of New York
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
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