On a recent trip to New York City, I frequently found myself in the underbelly of the city, submerged below the hustle and bustle as I was transported up and down Manhattan. I couldn’t help but notice while I was visiting how the now antique mosaics depicting station names give the subway system character. It’s a massive difference from the drab uniformity of the concrete stations here in our nation’s capital, a system which is much more modern but lacks the vintage charm of New York. This led me to wonder just how old these catacombs of conveyance were that whisk people every which way, at all times of day, just below the surface.
The story of New York’s modern subway system actually doesn’t begin underground at all. In fact, quite the opposite. Public transportation had existed in the city in the form of horse