Underground transportation in NYC in the 20th century Essay

Underground transportation in NYC in the 20th century - Essay Example New York has the second-oldest subway system in the United States (after Boston). It ties together five boroughs in a way that allows the residents of one of the largest metropolitan areas of the world to claim that they live in the same city.The subway is more than just a means of transportation. It has been an object of warring city planners, of graft and corruption, and of scandals which have generated hundreds of pages in the local newspapers. It serves as a part of New Yorkers' daily lives, as a place for some to sleep, and for others to practice their trade as beggars and buskers.This paper is about the subway system in New York during the 20th century. The story begins in 1868. Alfred E. Beach asked the New York State Legislature for permission to build a network of pneumatic tubes under the City of New York in which he could move mail. His real plan was to build a pneumatic subway-moving people the way pneumatic tubes in Paris and London moved paper (Tannenbaum 1995). His pla ns never got past the digging of a test hole-only 14 feet long. He also dug a 312 foot pneumatic tube under Broadway, which showed that an underground system could be completed, but he never continued with the invention.The actual New York Subway system opened first in 1904, four years after the groundbreaking ceremonies. Mayor Robert van Wyck shoveled the first clump of dirt into his top-hat, to take home (NYT 1900). The line was financed by the city, but was originally operated by private companies. The first line, called the "IRT Ninth Avenue Line," continues with that name to this day. The IRT, which stands for "Interborough Rapid Transit," was one of two lines which were privately run, the other being the BRT, or Brooklyn Rapid Transit. IRT was the first of these private operating consortia, but there were several others. The name "IRT" survives to this day, which described the original line for which the concession was granted. Although the names have been changed to letters, numbers and colors, such as the "red number 2," locals still refer to the "IRT," or the "Bayshore Line," which makes it difficult for non-New Yorkers to understand what they are talking about. Although the IRT Ninth Avenue Line was the first "sub"way, 40% of today's subway lines are actually above ground. The oldest part of the subway system is the Lexington Avenue Line, which is part of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn. This line was opened in 1885. Figure 1: Map of the IRT, Circa 1906 The Subway was not the first public transport in New York by any means. It was preceded by the "elevated lines," which had opened 35 years earlier. Early 20th Century: The Expansion of Urban Transit The 9th-Avenue Line was a tremendous success, and was followed by municipal expansion projects. The City wanted to unite the five boroughs through public transportation. The City fathers looked upon the subway as a way to spread out the population and allow for greater growth (Fischer 1998). There was a debate about whether the city's growth could be better assured by elevated railroad lines rather than the more-expensive underground tracks. As the City was growing at a tremendous rate, and land values were climbing, those arguing for more elevated lines lost the argument (NYCSubway.org 2005