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NYC Subway Centennial     

 

Centennial Exhibition
DANIEL GREENE: SUBWAY PAINTINGS
February 12 – April 11
New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan

Daniel Greene: Subway Paintings features oils and pastels by the internationally acclaimed realist painter. Greene’s meticulous portrayals of IRT station interiors celebrate the decorative artistry of original mosaics and ceramics. His most recent works, which depict subway passengers, showcase Greene’s mastery of portraiture.
Free admission.

Children’s Workshop
PHOTO TRANSFERS
Sunday, March 7, 1 p.m.
Sanford Gaster Education Center, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

Using images of the Museum’s vintage subway cars, photographer Carol Quartin will guide students in the technique of photo transfers. Transfers will be made from Polaroid film onto Reeves paper. Suggested for ages 8 and up.
Free with museum admission.

Meet the Artist
NINE FLOORS DOWN: THE 191ST IRT RENOVATION
Saturday, March 13, 1:30 p.m.
Screening Room, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

The 191st Street IRT station, opened in 1911, is one of three unusual and architecturally striking stations in the NYC subway. Located almost 100 feet below the streets of Washington Heights, the 1,9 tunnels pass through blasted solid bedrock. Elevators and suspended passages make this deepest station in the system a subterranean marvel. Mosaic artist Susan Brown, of Serpentile, has been engaged in several artistic renovations, and is currently reproducing the station’s stunning tile work. Ms. Brown will discuss the processes involved, display before-and-after photographs, and have samples of both original work and reproductions to examine.
Free with museum admission.

Tour
MIRACLES UNDER 34TH STREET
Sunday, March 14, 12 Noon

From the newest Sixth Avenue station, at 57th Street, to the oldest, at West 4th Street, this tour will explore the complexities of “wrapping” the 1940 IND subway around existing tracks. Obstacles to the new construction were the Port Authority Trans Hudson line (PATH), built in 1911, the Broadway BMT line, built in 1918, Pennsylvania Station tunnels, and the 6th Avenue el, built in 1878 — making this line a marvel of design and construction. The tour with Subway Historian Joe Cunningham will also encompass the complex 14th, 23rd, and 34th Street stations and the deep-bore express tracks that opened in 1967 between 34th and West 4th Streets.
Reservations and advanced payment are required: $15 Museum members, $20 non-members. Transit Museum members may call for courtesy advance booking beginning March 1. Please have your membership number ready when you call. Non-members may call for reservations after March 8. The reservations number is 718-694-1867.

Meet the Expert
NEW CONEY ISLAND TERMINAL
Saturday, March 20, 1:30 p.m.
Screening Room, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

Four subway routes converge at the Stillwell Avenue Terminal complex in Brooklyn, the largest aboveground station in the New York City subway system. Consulting architect Gregory Kiss of Kiss + Cathcart Architects will talk about the history of Coney Island from a transit perspective, and the reconstruction of the terminal using historical and contemporary images. He will explain how the reconstruction was coordinated with the redevelopment of the surrounding community and designed to promote the use of renewable energy.
Free with museum admission.

Centennial Exhibition
THE SUBWAY AT 100: GENERAL WILLIAM BARCLAY PARSONS AND THE BIRTH OF THE NYC SUBWAY
March 22–September 30
The New York Public Library, Science, Industry and Business Library
188 Madison Ave. at 34th Street, Manhattan
Tuesday – Thursday 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.; Friday - Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Closed Sunday and Monday)

The Science, Industry and Business Library, in collaboration with the New York Transit Museum, will present an exhibition celebrating the life and work of William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer for New York City’s first subway, the IRT, and the Subway Centennial. The exhibition presents materials drawn from the Library’s collection, augmented by artifacts and documents from other institutions. The exhibition is made possible by Parsons Brinckerhoff. For information, call 212-592-7000.
Free Admission.

Meet the Writer
A CENTURY OF SUBWAYS
Saturday, March 27, 1:30 p.m.
Screening Room, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

A prolific writer on transportation history, Brian J. Cudahy will offer a fascinating discussion on the powerbrokers and politicians who planned New York’s subway, the engineers and laborers who built it, and the city it transformed. Based on his newly published book, A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York’s Underground Railways, Mr. Cudahy will also compare the New York’s subway to older systems in Boston and London and reveal the impact of the IRT on rail transportation in the country.
Free with museum admission.

Centennial Exhibition
SUBWAY STYLE: ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY
April 8–June 18
UBS Gallery, Manhattan
1285 Avenue of the Americas between 51st & 52nd Streets
Monday – Friday 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Conceived over a century ago as a great public work, New York City’s subway system melded innovative engineering with stylish architecture and interior design. Today, the system is such an essential part of city life that it is easy to overlook its design features. Featuring objects and images from the Transit Museum’s collections, the exhibition traces the evolution of the system’s design of over the past century. The exhibition showcases examples of architecture, ceramics, metalwork, lighting, signage, furnishings, maps, fare collection, advertising, and rolling stock.
Free admission.

Tour
PUBLIC ART MUSEUM
Saturday, April 17, 12 Noon

Art and mass transit are long-time partners, sharing a tradition that dates back to the construction of the first subway. The MTA art collection is rapidly becoming New York’s premier public art museum. Sandra Bloodworth, director of the MTA’s Arts for Transit program, will lead a tour of subway and rail stations featuring a selection of permanent artworks by internationally known artists Elizabeth Murray, Maya Lin and Donald Lipski, as well as artworks by other artists.
Reservations required: Museum members $15, non-members $20. Transit Museum members may call for courtesy advance booking beginning March 1. Please have your membership number ready when you call. Non-members may call for reservations after March 8. The reservations number is 718-694-1867.

JOIN US THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR
A FIVE-BOROUGH CELEBRATION OF THE SUBWAY SYSTEM

THE BRONX IS UP

The subway was extended into the “distant” countryside of the Bronx in 1905 spurring housing construction and the rapid growth of working-class neighborhoods along its route. On April 15, 1918 the Lexington Avenue subway was extended to Woodlawn, part of an unprecedented expansion of the city’s subway system that provided most Bronx residents direct access to rapid transit and a geographically unified New York City.

Tour - Nostalgia Train
BRONX EXPRESS
Sunday, April 18, 10 AM

Downtown, then uptown to the Bronx aboard treasures from the Museum’s Vintage IRT fleet. R 12s, 15s and 17s from the 40s 50s and 60s plus the famous Redbirds roll on the tracks from Times Square, south to downtown Manhattan, then up the 1/9 Broadway line to the Bronx at Van Cortlandt Park. Lots of springtime activities await! Return to Times Square at 4 p.m.
Reservations Required: Museum members $25; non-members $30; children 3 to 17 $10.
(Become a Museum member when you reserve and save $5 on your adult ticket.) Transit Museum members may call for courtesy advance booking beginning March 1. Please have your membership number ready when you call. Non-members may call for reservations after March 8. The reservations number is 718-694-1867.

Poetry Reading
POETRY IN MOTION
Thursday, April 22, 6 p.m.
New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

An evening of readings featuring leading poets whose work recently appeared in the MTA’s popular subway poster series, Poetry In Motion. Co-presented with the Poetry Society of America, the evening will include poets Philip Levine and Fanny Howe. Book signing will follow.
Free admission.

Lecture
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY SYSTEM
Saturday, April 24,1:30 p.m.
Screening Room, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

Peter Derrick, Ph.D., archivist and editor of the Bronx County Historical Society and author of Tunneling to the Future, will discuss why New York needed an extensive subway system, the political and financial difficulties in getting new lines built, and the impact of the subways on the growth of the city and the well being of its population. The focus will be on the largest stage of subway expansion, the 1913 Dual System of Rapid Transit.
Free with museum admission.

Children’s Workshop
POETRY IN MOTION
Saturday, April 24, 1 p.m.
Sanford Gaster Education Center, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

Poet Hal Sirowitz, author of Mother Said, uses his own humorous poetry to kindle a greater appreciation for this art form. During this workshop, designed especially for kids, he will help them pen their own poetry and then create their own “Poetry In Motion” posters, similar to what they see in our subways and buses. Suggested for ages 6 and up.
Free with museum admission.

Tour
NEW CONEY ISLAND TERMINAL
Sunday, April 25, 12 Noon

When the BMT’s Stillwell Avenue Terminal was constructed in 1919, it became the gateway for urban adventurers seeking excitement at the beaches and amusement parks at Coney Island. Even then the new technologies of the subway—complex switches and signals—made Stillwell a state-of-the-art transit hub. Since then millions of subway riders have passed through the elegant elevated structure. Now undergoing a dramatic renovation, the “new” terminal will again lead the way with state-of-the-art systems, especially the photovoltaic cells that will provide 250,000 kilowatt hours of clean electrical power each year. Consulting Architect Greg Kiss, of Kiss + Cathcart, Architects, will lead this fascinating tour.
Reservations required. Museum members $15, non-members $20. Transit Museum members may call for courtesy advance booking beginning March 1. Please have your membership number ready when you call. Non-members may call for reservations after March 8. The reservations number is 718-694-1867.

Children’s Workshop
SILK-SCREENING CENTENNIAL T-SHIRTS
Sunday, April 25, 1- 2:30 p.m.
Sanford Gaster Education Center, New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights

Silk-screen and graphic artist Jon Millstein will demonstrate the art and process of silk-screening using the Computer Lab. Children will then silk-screen their own Centennial t-shirts to take home.
Suggested for ages 7 and up.
Free with museum admission.

NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM’S SUBWAY CENTENNIAL EXHIBITIONS AND PROGRAMMING ARE MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF AND WITH PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS, A STATE AGENCY, AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Educational Activities

On Saturdays and Sundays throughout 2004, we will offer children’s workshops that relate to the subway and our special Centennial exhibits. Some of these workshops will feature visiting poets, artists and other workshop leaders with unique expertise. Weekend workshops are scheduled for 1:00 PM in the museum’s Sanford Gaster Education Center.

In commemoration of the Subway's 100th Anniversary, the Transit Museum’s free online community site is featuring a set of fun, subway-themed student activities from all different disciplines that teachers may use inside or outside the classroom. Student projects—from any grade level—can be submitted via the Student Activity Depot site, and select student works will be featured in the Museum's official online student Centennial Gallery. Interested learners may also submit projects on their own for inclusion in the Gallery. For details, visit: http://www.transitmuseumeducation.org/100