Entries Tagged as 'new york transit museum'

Chicago History Museum

August 12th, 2008 · 4 Comments


Chicago History Museum, Old Town, Chicago

I’ve never been to the Chicago History Museum but I’ve passed by it on Clark and always thought, “I should check that out.” Online I found out that on Mondays admission is free, so I made my first visit yesterday.

I thought the Chicago History Museum was well put together. It’s not gigantic, which is kind of nice. You can see everything there in just and hour or two. If you plan ahead you can download a free audio tour mp3s of the permanent exhibit. I downloaded them, but forgot to put them on my iPod.

The special exhibit right now is Catholic Chicago, which I wasn’t really interested in. The permanent exhibits are all about the history of Chicago and I enjoyed those a lot. I liked the artifacts from the Columbian Exposition and Riverview Park. There was a cool area that was called “City in Crisis” that told about different things like the Great Chicago Fire, the Chicago race riot, Haymarket affair, the Chicago Outlet, that kind of thing.

This old CTA train reminded me of when Tien and I visited the New York Transit Museum.

One exhibit of the Chicago History Museum displayed artifacts from major businesses that are based in Chicago. I kind of chuckled because I own the pitcher that is on the left in the display. You can order your own here.

Kind of morbid, but I thought I’d seen Lincoln’s deathbed on a visit to Washington DC. I saw the Peterson house where Lincoln died and there was a room with a bed. When I got home I looked it up online and the Chicago History Museum has the actual bed. The one in the Peterson house is a replica.

There was a Gas for Less gas station on Lincoln. Before it was torn down I photographed it. At first I thought this was the same sign, but it’s not. Still cool because this sort of gas station sign just does not exist any more.

In the museum gift shop I bought a book on Riverview park. I walked around outside a bit. The Chicago History Museum is right on the edge of Lincoln Park, so the grounds are gorgeous. I wanted to walk around more but it was about 1:30 and I was hungry for lunch. I took the bus down Clark to Frontera Grill but they’re closed on Mondays. boo. I went to Mambo Grill instead. Pretty good, but not Bayless.

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New York Transit Museum

January 19th, 2004 · 10 Comments

Yesterday Jeannette & I planned to meet up over at Tien’s for chili and football. Beforehand, Jeannette got tied up with her in-laws but Tien and I were able to go across the street to the New York Transit Museum, which turned out to be way fun.


We planned to have a football party at Tien’s Aunt’s, where he is staying while she is out of the country and while his apartment purchase goes through. Since the games didn’t start until 3 p.m., we went to the New York Transit museum in the afternoon before gametime. Conveniently it is located directly across the street from where Tien is staying.


The beginning of the museum was a display with old photographs and stories of how the subway was built. It was much less interactive than the second half, which had you actually going into old subway trains and busses and things. The first part was still very informative, even if it was not as fun. This chart shows the costs of things at the time of the subway construction as opposed to how much a laborer would earn.


Beneath the museum is a subway stop that is now only used by the museum. They have old subway cars from many different time periods parked on each side of the track and you can go into them and have a look around. On the platform the signs and benches match the time period of the train parked nearby.


I think this car is from around 1907.


Inside the circa 1907 subway car.


Even the really old subway cars had advertising in them.


This subway car is from about 1916.. note the ceiling fans!


This train is from about 1928. Thus far the seats have all been padded and covered with a material that seems to be woven from some sort of synthetic straw-like material.


I like the porthole windows on the 1949 subway train.


1949


Some old subway signs.


The history of subway commutors being nicknamed “strap hangers” goes back to this. In the really old subway cars, this one from 1907, there were straps hanging from the ceiling that commuters without a seat hung on to for balance. “Strap Hanger” has become somewhat of a prideful nickname to the modern-day commutor and there is even a public interest group called Straphangers Campaign which has been a respected voice for New York’s daily subway and bus riders since 1979.


Running the length of the train behind the straps, you can see in this photo of a 1907 train, is a cord. At the end of the cord is a bell. When you want to get off at the next subway stop you ring the bell and the conductor stops. .. much like our current bus system. The remaining photos are of the evoloution of the strap.


1916 “strap”.


1928.


1949.


1955.


Tien

More Information:
- The New York Transit Museum, by Tien
- Fun at the Transit Museum, by Tien (includes lots of cute photos of me!!)
- New York Transit Museum Official Site
- NYCSubway.org

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OHNY – Roosevelt Island

October 13th, 2003 · 24 Comments

After brunch, Jeannette, Masako, Tien, Eleanor and I took The Tram to Roosevelt Island to see the Smallpox Hospital Ruins. We missed the openhousenewyork tours, but the grounds are open until sunset every day so explored around by ourselves.

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After brunch at the Sidewalk Cafe we went to Veniero’s to get some Italian pastries for dessert. I’d never been to Veniero’s before – it sounds too much like an STD! – but had heard Jeannette talk about it many times. On the bus ride to the Upper East Side we dug in to the pastries. From the Upper East Side we took The Tram to Roosevelt Island, a small island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens.


The Tram goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and back. The Tram opened in 1976 as a temporary solution to get people to Roosevelt Island since there was no subway service. The gondolas are Swiss-made and are the only such system used for mass-transit in North America. At the time of it’s opening, The Tram was free. It wasn’t until 1990 that they started charging a 10 cent fare. Today the fare is $2.00 and is the only place in New York that still uses the old subway tokens.


From The Tram you get a beautiful view of the Queensboro Bridge and Queens. The skyscraper to the right of the bridge is the Citibank building and is the tallest building in Long Island (including Queens and Brooklyn).


The Queensboro Bridge is also called the 59th Street Bridge because you access it from 59th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Simon & Garfunkel sang a song called The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy). It’s one of my favorite songs of theirs.


The Tram system has two sets of cables so that two gondolas can be running at the same time. Here we pass the other gondola at one of the highest points of the 4 1/2 minute ride. It’s about 250 feet above the water.


Descending, we approach the Roosevelt Island Tram station.


Roosevelt Island’s west side has a promenade along the water with great views of Manhattan. These cranes are working on FDR Drive on Manhattans’ east side.


While we were at brunch earlier we were trying to decide what to do. We wanted to go to Gracie Mansion but it was going to be too late by the time we got done eating. We thought about going to the MTA Transit Museum but it was closed. On the openhousenewyork map there were tours of the Smallpox Hospital Ruins on Roosevelt Island, but they were for Saturday, not Sunday. Because no one in our group had ever been to Roosevelt Island, we decided to go and check it out anyway. These are the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital.


The Smallpox Hospital was opened in 1856 and was the first hospital in the United States to take in the victims of the smallpox plague. Patients here were under quarantine because smallpox is so contagious.


James Renwick, who is best known for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institute Building, was the the architect who designed Smallpox Hospital.


The ruins of Smallpox Hospital as well as The Tram are featured in the 2002 movie Spiderman. Dave Gallagher documents the NYC Spiderman locations here.


Looking back at the ruins as we make our way to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.


Masako stops to pick up a stone. Behind her are the ruins of Smallpox Hospital and the Queensboro Bridge. The three smokestaks are that of a powerplant in Queens.


At the tip of Roosevelt Island there was a grassy area with some chairs left behind by some fishermen. Sitting down and enjoying the view.. Manhattan to our west, Queens to our east. This is another view of Manhattan.


Eleanor, Jeannette, Masako, Rachelle, Tien


Pepsi Cola bottling in Long Island City, Queens. There’s been controversy around this sign.. whether it should be preserved or whether it should be taken down to make a clear waterfront for Queens West. I think it should be saved. It’s 60 years old and is well-known and loved as part of the western Queens skyline.


At the very tip of Roosevelt Island there were some rock outcroppings in the water. In the background is Manhattan.

Walking back up the promenade to the subway.


The seagulls of Roosevelt Island hate me. I was torturing them to get a good shot in front of the Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.

- Tien’s post on Roosevelt Island

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