Two New Transit Museum Exhibits Bring Big NYC Energy This Summer

By Akiva Listman, courtesy of NY Transit Museum

If you love New York, its stories, its quirks, and of course its subways, the New York Transit Museum has two brand‑new exhibits opening June 17 that you’re going to want to hop on the train for.

50 Years of Stories

Courtesy of NY Transit Museum

The Museum is turning 50, and they’re celebrating by digging into some of the wildest, funniest, and most “only in New York” moments from transit history. Think:

• Vintage subway ads and 1976 admission buttons

• Wild transit experiments (hello, double‑decker “Broadway Battleship”)

• A Grand Central clock face vandalized during a 1968 protest

• Original mosaics, terracotta, and artwork from subway architect Squire Vickers

• A rare chandelier from the Old City Hall station

It’s a love letter to the people, ideas, and oddball inventions that shaped the system we ride every day.

Ode to the Orange Seats

Powerful Women of Broadway by JJ Gonzalez Acosta, courtesy of NY Transit Museum

If you’ve ever plopped down on those iconic orange and yellow bucket seats, this one’s for you. As the seats head toward retirement, the Museum is giving them a proper send‑off with a colorful, creative art show featuring:

• Tattoo art inspired by the seats

• Miniature models by Danny Cortes

• A big, bold mixed‑media piece by street artist Daze

• Tiny cedar‑block oil paintings

• A real set of orange seats arranged for visitors to debate the eternal question: Which seat is best?

It’s nostalgia, art, and pure NYC personality rolled into one.

Why You Should Go

Because no one does transit — or storytelling — like New York. These exhibits are fun, surprising, and full of the little details that make this city feel alive.

Learn more at nytransitmuseum.org and go get your subway‑nerd joy on.