NOW ON VIEW
New York Transit Museum exhibits draw from our extensive collection of vintage vehicles, photographs, artwork, and archival materials that tell New York’s transit story. Explore what’s currently on view in Brooklyn and at our Grand Central Gallery below, and experience our digital exhibits from right at home.
For more information on hours and admission, visit our know before you visit page.
Opening December 17, 2025
FAREwell, MetroCard tells the story of the iconic fare card that reshaped daily life for millions of New Yorkers. When the MetroCard debuted in 1994, its mission was twofold: introduce new technology to the transit system and speed the elimination of tokens as a way to pay fares. In the decades that followed, the MetroCard became almost as iconic as the token itself, bearing safety reminders, commemorating anniversaries, and celebrating cultural moments. As OMNY becomes the new way to pay, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the MetroCard’s origins, its systemwide rollout, the technology behind it, and the many ways it became a cultural icon for a generation of riders.
On view through May 31, 2026
You take it to work, to school, or for a night out. It’s become a shorthand for New York — or urbanity in the abstract. It’s the New York City subway. It moves millions of people — and has since the day it opened on October 27th, 1904. Using images and objects from the Museum collection, this exhibit explores some of the endless ways to complete the sentence, “The Subway Is…”
The Subway Is… exhibit is generously sponsored by Boldyn Networks, with additional sponsorship support from Alstom, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Mitsubishi Electric, di Domenico + Partners LLP, and Interactive Elements, Inc.
Through archival photographs, ephemera, and objects from the Transit Museum’s extensive collection, Ticket to Ride shows the evolution of fare collection across all of New York’s modes of transportation. Visitors will see and touch different types of collection equipment such as turnstiles and fare boxes, get a sense the colossal process of fare collection, and see some of the people who make sure the money goes where it’s supposed to go.
Ticket to Ride is generously sponsored by:
Steel, Stone & Backbone presents a look at the construction methods and labor required to build the city’s first subway line at the turn of the 20th Century. Historical artifacts, video and photography footage bring to life the dedication and tenacity of the workers who made this project possible.
Moving the Millions highlights the evolution of the subway and the major issues and events that influenced the development of the largest transportation network in North America. Home to twenty vintage subway and elevated cars dating back to 1907, and a working signal tower, the Museum’s working platform level spans a full city block.
Explore the story of above ground mobility and surface transit from the early 1800s to the present. A 12-seat city bus, “fishbowl” bus cab, walk-don’t walk signs, parking meters, fire hydrants, traffic lights, and an array of other interactive “Street furniture” bring this exhibit to life. Visitors can also learn about the evolution of fuel technologies and its environmental impact.
Information design in New York’s transportation system is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of millions of people traveling in a 5,000 square mile area. Important travel information must be conveyed quickly, clearly, and efficiently in a manner that is also pleasing to the eye. One of the founding objectives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, more than 50 years ago, was to standardize wayfinding and informational signage. But what came before “Subway Standard” Helvetica?
No Spitting on the Platform showcases a selection of historic wayfinding and platform etiquette signage from the New York Transit Museum’s archives.
This exhibit features over 50 detailed scale models of trolleys and work cars, with a focus on Brooklyn. It helps visitors trace the changes in trolleys and buses over time, and encourages a dialogue among generations. New York’s trolleys and buses have been a familiar element in city life since the late 1800s, and many New Yorkers remember various vehicles in detail. Just seeing particular shapes or features can bring back memories of eras, events, relationships, and neighborhoods.
In laboratories with bubbling test tubes and specialized apparatuses, a diverse and dedicated group of transit employees conducted thousands of experiments between 1900 and the mid-1990s. The mission? To ensure the materials used in New York City’s transit system were safe and durable.
On view on our platform level, Subway Science: The Materials Inspection Division, showcases rarely seen objects and images from the Museum’s archive to reveal the forgotten world of materials testing in the transit system. Discover tools and equipment used in the labs and the unsung innovators responsible for this important work.
Our Grand Central Gallery & Store is located just off the Main Concourse in the Shuttle Passage, adjacent to the Station Masters’ Office.
For more information on hours and admission, visit our know before you visit page.
November 13, 2025 – February 2026
This holiday season, the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery & Store presents the Holiday Train Show, a cherished tradition that captures the magic of miniature trains and New York City during the holidays. Lionel model trains, including Metro-North, the whimsical Polar Express, and vintage subway sets, travel a 34-foot, two-level “O” gauge layout that begins at a miniature Grand Central Terminal and winds past New York landmarks on the way to the North Pole. To mark the 40th anniversary of MTA Arts & Design, the 2025 display also features artwork by Poster Program artists James Yang and Erin K. Robinson, whose bold illustrations bring a fresh creative spark to this beloved holiday tradition.
Prepare for your visit by reviewing our social narrative for the Holiday Train Show.
DIGITAL EXHIBITS
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Bringing Back the City: Mass Transit Responds to Crises
Bringing Back the City offers a unique perspective on the vital, often unseen, work of New York’s transit employees, using the events of 9/11, the 2003 Northeast Blackout, Hurricane Sandy and other severe weather events as examples.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Grand by Design: A Centennial Celebration of Grand Central Terminal
Examine Grand Central Terminal itself as an artifact, using archival images and interviews that convey the story of the building’s past, present and future in larger-than-life detail.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Elizabeth Jennings Graham
100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, a 24-year-old black New Yorker stood her ground on an omnibus. With courage and perseverance, she won the first recorded legal victory for equal rights on public transportation. Hear her story.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
A Grand New Connection: LIRR to Grand Central Madison
The opening of Grand Central Madison is one of the most seismic shifts in New York transportation history, allowing LIRR trains to provide service directly to Manhattan’s east side. Explore the LIRR’s journey to Grand Central Madison.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Towards a Better Way: The “Vignelli” Map at 50
In August of 1972, the New York City Transit Authority debuted a colorful diagrammatic map of the subway system, now commonly referred to as the Vignelli Map. Trace the evolution of subway maps that led to the Vignelli Map and its use today.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Transit Innovator: Granville T. Woods
Granville T. Woods was a prolific inventor. In the face of discrimination and racial prejudice, he had over 50 registered inventions to his credit during his lifetime.
DIGITAL EXHIBIT
Malbone Street Wreck
November 1, 2018 marks the anniversary of the Malbone Street Wreck, the worst subway accident in the history of New York City. Learn more about the event and the changes and improvements made to help prevent such tragedies from happening again.
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