Photo © Public Domain

NYC Underground Subway begins operating

Description

Started, Oct 27, 1904

The original 1904 subway line ran from City Hall to Grand Central Terminal, then west to Times Square, and finally north to 145th Street. Four of the original stations are now closed including 91st St., 18th St., Worth St., and the Old City Hall Stations.Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of the NYC Subway system were already in service by then.

Related Sites

IRT City Hall Station-The southern terminal of New York City's 1st subway line was City Hall Station. As ridership increased, extending the platform to fit ten-car trains became impractical. Due to its close proximity to Brooklyn Bridge Station, the City Hall Station was closed on December 31, 1945. The station remains an architectural gem, though it is now only accessible through special tours organized by the New York Transit Museum.

Broadway Pneumatic Underground Railway-Alfred Ely Beach developed the first demonstration of an underground transit system in New York City in 1869, launching it in February 1870. Known as the Beach Pneumatic Transit, the system spanned just 312 feet under Broadway from Warren Street to Murray Street. It was an experimental atmospheric railway subway. Despite its success, the line was never extended due to political and financial challenges. Today, no part of this original tunnel remains, as it was within the boundaries of the current City Hall station under Broadway.

Great Blizzard of 1888-The Great Blizzard of 1888 underscored the need for underground transportation in NYC. In response, a plan to build the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900.