It took approx. 30 years for the NYC Subway to go from concept to opening. In 1904, Mayor McClellan drove the train on the first subway line, which went from City Hall to 145th and Broadway. Read more about the system and watch a 1905 film of the subway.
Related materials to the technology that made the subway possible and the history of it’s construction are here.
Read transcript of the American Experience episode about the NYC subway.
Watch the film of the subway from 1905, from the Library of Congress.
