The First Day of the NYC Subway

An outstanding handwritten message on this postcard. The New York City subway system opened on October 27, 1904, and Ruth wrote to her friend Jane about riding on it the very next day. The text reads, "We rode on the subway today and it was jam(m)ed. It only opened last night, so of course there would be a crowd." She goes on to say, "Why don't you answer my letters? We went down to the Docks and saw the big steamer in there and went all through it. We also went to the aquarium down at Castle Garden. Give my love to your mother and all the rest. Yours, lovingly." The postmark on the other side is October 29th, 1904.

We don't know Ruth, but we can imagine how excited she was about the new subway! Read more about opening day here: http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/dayone_index.html

The postcard image itself is of the Brooklyn Bridge station. If you walk up the steps from street level to the station on the left, that's the terminus of the Brooklyn Bridge, where you caught the streetcar to go to Brooklyn. The building in the center of the image is the Pulitzer building, demolished in 1955 so that more automobiles could get over the Brooklyn Bridge.