7. The New York Transit Museum features hundreds of sketches of subway riders
The New York Transit Museum, located on the northern border of Boerum Hill, tells the ever-evolving story of mass transportation in New York City through artifacts and rotating exhibitions. The museum acquires historical items through purchases from auctions, public gift donations, internal transfers from other MTA departments, and donations from other museums. Such items have included an 1831 New York and Harlem Railroad Ledger Book (the oldest item in the museum), archaic platforms including “no spitting” signs, and twenty vintage subway and elevated cars dating back to 1907.
In a new exhibit, the New York Transit Museum has featured sketches by local artists of MTA subway riders. Many artists sketch while commuting, passing the time and honing their skills. “Transit Sketches” features work by six artists — Ebony Bolt, Marvin Franklin, Naomi Grossman, Joseph Solman, Amy Tenenouser, and Hank Virgona — who spent years filling sketchbooks during train rides. Each sketch tells a story of someone on their way to work, traveling home with children, on their way to a museum, or lost in thought.