On July 4th, 1976, a group of New York City Transit employees opened the “New York Transit Exhibit” as part of the United States Bicentennial year celebrations. Housed in the decommissioned Court Street Station, the exhibit allowed visitors to climb aboard fifteen vintage subway and elevated cars and explore a variety of exhibits dedicated to the rich and sprawling history of mass transportation in New York City. Only scheduled to be open for two months, the exhibit was so popular that its run was continually extended – for the next thirteen years. In 1989, the exhibit was officially established as the New York Transit Museum.

The New York Transit Museum has grown substantially in the ensuing years, with the addition of the Grand Central Gallery Annex and Store in 1999, a major renovation to the Museum’s Court Street Station home completed in 2003, and the opening of the Gabrielle Shubert Research Center in 2015. Not only has the Museum expanded its physical footprint and the extent of its historic collections, but its educational, public programming, and growing exhibit offerings have flourished as well – providing nostalgia, entertainment and information for the benefit and enjoyment of New Yorkers and transit-lovers young and old.

This summer, the Transit Museum marks its 40^th anniversary with three action-packed events featuring the Museum’s vintage fleet of buses and train cars! Learn more at www.nytransitmuseum.org/40.

PARTY ON WHEELS!

Sunday, June 12^th, 9am – 11am | Tickets start at $35

Bring the whole family for private early access to the Museum in Downtown Brooklyn, breakfast and birthday cake, crafts and dancing, and unlimited rides on the Museum’s vintage R 1/9 subway cars from the 1930s. They’ll even take you for a spin on a vintage bus! Tickets: www.bit.ly/PartyonWheels16.

The Party on Wheels is generously sponsored by Transit Wireless. Proceeds benefit the Transit Museum’s education programs. All but $25 per ticket is tax deductible.

BLOCK PARTY!

Sunday, June 12^th, noon – 5pm | FREE

The Transit Museum is pulling out all the stops with an all-day, all-ages block party up above the Museum’s subway-station home in Downtown Brooklyn. Schermerhorn Street will be closed to make way for transportation games, entertainment, and… beep-beep… a selection of vehicles from the Museum’s vintage bus fleet! Admission to the Museum will be free all afternoon.

RIDE THE RAILS!

Saturday June 25 and Sunday, June 26, noon – 4pm | FREE with the swipe of a MetroCard!

The Museum’s vintage train cars are headed on a special trip to the end of the line – the BMT Brighton line, that is! Ride the rails in historic style by hopping on and off a selection of the Museum’s vintage fleet at the Brighton Beach station B/Q platforms, including BRT/BMT “Standards,” BMT D-Type Triplex, and IND R1/9s. A pop-up retail shop and hands-on activities for the whole family round out this day of fun at the Brighton Beach station!

To celebrate the Museum’s 40^th anniversary, artist Julia Rothman has created a collection of handmade paintings depicting the Museum and its extensive collection, entitled 40 Years, 40 Paintings. The original paintings will be on view in an upcoming exhibit at the Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn, opening on June 12^th.

The New York Transit Museum is also rolling out a new website in honor of its 40^th anniversary! Over the next few weeks, www.nytransitmuseum.org/40 will feature images and artifacts that highlight the Museum’s storied history as well as the institution’s favorite events and exhibitions over the years.

ABOUT NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM:

The New York Transit Museum, one of the city’s leading cultural institutions, is the largest museum in the United States devoted to urban public transportation history and one of the premier institutions of its kind in the world. The Museum explores the development of the greater New York metropolitan region through the presentation of exhibitions, tours, educational programs and workshops dealing with the cultural, social and technological history of public transportation. Since its inception 40 years ago, the Museum – which is housed in a historic 1936 IND subway station in Downtown Brooklyn – has grown in scope and popularity. The New York Transit Museum operates a Gallery Annex in Grand Central Terminal that presents changing exhibitions. As custodian and interpreter of the region’s extensive public transportation networks, the Museum strives to share through its public programs their rich and vibrant history with local, regional, and international audiences.