Subway Station Photographs Collection
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Abstract
Photographs of some of Brooklyn's elevated and subway trains, stations, and tracks.
Historical Note
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) began construction of the first subway line in New York City in 1900. In 1909, construction began on Brooklyn's first subway line, the 4th Avenue subway. To encourage the rapid growth of subway construction, in 1913 the City of New York divided the disbursement of contracts between two companies: the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), which was later renamed the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT). Under the "dual contract" system, the IRT was awarded rights to expand the existing Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Bronx lines, while the BMT was awarded contracts for the construction of new lines in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. In the 1920s, the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND) was established to further expand the capacity of the city's subway system, as well as to compete with the privately-owned IRT and BMT. The IND's first completed line, the Eighth Avenue subway, opened in 1932.
In 1940, the IRT and BMT were acquired by the city and all three lines were consolidated with the IND into the New York City Board of Transportation. In 1953, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) was established as a public benefit corporation to operate the subway system, and in 1968 the NYCTA was placed under the control of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which continues to oversee and operate New York City's subway system.
Source: "History of Public Transportation in New York City," New York Transit Museum, accessed December 9, 2010, http://www.transitmuseumeducation.org/trc/background
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series by subject.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of 100 black and white 8 x 10 in. photographs depicting Brooklyn subway stations, cars, tracks and one photo reproduction of a subway map.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item/descriptive title, date (if known); Subway Station Photographs Collection, BCMS_0005; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Brian Merlis in 2009.
