Музей транспорта Нью-Йорка: История метро и автобусов

Transit museum in New York City

The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is located in the decommissioned Court Street subway station in Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. There is a smaller satellite Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The museum is a self supporting division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. TOC

The museum is located in an actual subway station, which was originally called Court Street. along with a long section of the Fulton Street Line and the Rutgers Street Tunnel. The station has one center island platform with two tracks. The tracks end at bumper blocks just beyond the west end of the platform. The station walls feature a tile band set in a course two tiles high (as is the case with most IND local stations), colored aquamarine with a cerulean blue border. It is still a functioning subway station; trains are moved into and out of the exhibits using the tunnel between the station platforms and the outer tracks at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Street station (see below). Court Street was to be the northern terminal of the HH Fulton Street Local, which would run south (geographically east) to Euclid Avenue. Additionally, one of the alternative plans for the Second Avenue Subway would have included a southern extension to Brooklyn, tying into the stub at Court Street to accommodate through service to/from Manhattan. The HH through service was never inaugurated; the only trains to serve the station were part of the Court Street Shuttle, taking passengers from Court Street to the transfer station at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets. and was abandoned on June 1, 1946. This saved about $19,903 a year; at the time of its closure, the shuttle earned $6,700 a year. On March 15, 1960, the New York City Transit Authority tested a new cleaning process on the walls of the Court Street station, which had been stained after years without use. There were also plans to convert the abandoned station into a bowling alley in 1961, but these were not carried out. Meanwhile, the sealed but still present station entrances became dumping grounds for garbage. The station was also used as a set for movies. Three years after its closing in 1949, the station was used for the filming of the film Guilty Bystander. On November 26, 1956, the station was used to film a scene of The FBI Story, posing as the Bowling Green station. By the 1960s, the station was being used for numerous films every year; for instance, the station was a filming location for nine films in 1964, thirteen in 1965, and twenty two in 1966. After the museum opened, the station continued to be used as a set for movies. as well as to host private events during hours the facility is not normally open.

The station was a two track, one island platformed station while in service. The Transit Museum's main entrance is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn. An ADA accessible chair lift and elevator were added after the station was converted into a museum. The wheelchair lift is located at Court and Schermerhorn Streets, but unlike the elevators in operational New York City Subway stations, must be accessed by requesting it in advance or using a call button.

On July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit was opened in the decommissioned underground station as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, charging a fee of one subway token for admittance. Old subway cars which had been preserved, as well as models and other exhibits were displayed. Plans were to keep the museum open until September 7 of that year,

In the mid 1990s the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) assumed control of the Transit Museum from the New York City Transit Authority. At that time, the scope of the museum was expanded to include other aspects of transportation services within the MTA region, including commuter rail (Metro North, Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road) and roads, tunnels, and bridges (MTA Bridges and Tunnels). Since then, rotating exhibits on the mezzanine level frequently highlight commuter railroad and bridge/tunnel operations, as well as their history. The museum includes subway, bus, railway, bridge, and tunnel memorabilia; and other exhibits including vintage signage and in vehicle advertisements; and models and dioramas of subway, bus, and other equipment. A program of lectures, seminars, films, and tours for all ages is offered at the museum. In addition, offsite programs consist of guided tours of MTA facilities, subway stations, artwork and architecture, and New York neighborhoods, as well as opportunities to ride vintage railway and bus equipment. The museum's mezzanine (upper) level contains the majority of the exhibits, restrooms, water fountains, and a gift shop Artifacts from historic subway and bus operations, as well as NYC transportation infrastructure, are on display. The exhibits on the upper level are changed from time to time. In addition, there is a small presentation screening room which usually displays posters and videos for public education about courtesy and safety, including examples from other transit systems around the world. In addition to its own exhibit spaces, the museum occasionally collaborates with other local organizations, such as the Coney Island Museum, to jointly present historical or contemporary shows, such as Five Cents To Dreamland: A Trip to Coney Island.