New York Transit Museum NY 11201

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Darren Harrison

A wonderful museum in an old subway station. Lots of very interesting old carriages as well as multiple timelines showing the evolution of public transport in NY over the past 200 years. Was only $10 USD for adult tickets. Spent about 75 minutes here. Would recommend early on a weekday if possible as Sunday had lots of kids with noisy parents ?

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Molly Myers

The New York Transit Museum is a cleverly designed and beautifully curated museum. Set in an old subway station, you start your journey in a small cramped hallway dedicated to the history of how the subway was constructed. You can begin to imagine how cramped and strenuous the conditions the men who built the subway system were under. The museum does a great job to honor the workers and tell their stories. It is unbelievable what they accomplished. Next the museum opens up into a grand large room (that looks just like your subway stop) dedicated to the history, art, people, technology, and engineering of the New York Transportation Authority. It celebrates all of the wins of the last century; showcases art, advertisements, and psas that have graced past subway cars; displays vintage turnstiles, ticket machines, buses, and more… I especially loved the room dedicated to the metro card, may she rest in peace. Take a walk downstairs to the train platform to see the highlight of the museum, the collection of vintage train cars. You can explore train cars from the early 1900s all the way to the present day. Climb aboard, take a seat, giggle at the vintage advertisements. It is a true journey through time! I highly recommend spending 2+ hours here to have enough time to soak everything in. What a beautiful love letter to New York! Best public transportation in the country :)

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Jemlnlx

Lovely visit to the New York Transit Museum (Downtown Brooklyn) on a Saturday morning in the winter. $10 Adults/$5 Children/Seniors. Although street parking can be tough, it is manageable , especially on weekends in the Cobble Hill and Manhattan Bridge areas. Entrance via the "subway" steps on Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. Once down there, you can buy tickets at the ticketbooth although they recommend ticket purchase in advance online. You then navigate through the museum which includes lots of interesting and fun facts about New York Subway System...its origin, design, construction, and updates and maintenance over the last 120+ years. There are lots of interesting exhibits such as the evolution of the subway payment methods and turnstiles. A lovely exhibit pays tribute to the Metrocard and how it reolutionized the payment process. There are different machines on display as well as all of the "Special Edition" Metrocards throughout the years. Downstairs, on the tracks, there various train cars dating back 100+ years. You can see how each update fit the purpose of their time...given technological limitations of course. It was interesting reading a bit about each one. Finally, there is the Gift Shop with all kinds of interesting gift options...maps, magnets, toys, shirts, posters and other collectibles. Overall, I had a great time at the New York Transit Museum. Despite being a native New Yorker who has used its public transportation system since the 90's...it was very interesting learning all about it. I gained a new appreciation not of the system itself...but the employees who work hard to keep the system up and running. It was busy but not overcrowded....likely more crowds when the temperature warms up. I took about two (2) hours and was able to read most of the exhibits...I would allow around three (3) hours if you want to read everything. If you are ONLY interested in seeing the displays without reading...you can likely get through it in an hour. All staff throughout the museum were very friendly and helpful.