Nostalgia rides, new exhibits and scavenger hunts—The New York Transit Museum is putting together an array of programming to celebrate its 50th anniversary all summer long.
The most recent of these programs took place during July 4th weekend, as the Downtown Brooklyn museum ran rail car rides embodying the spirit of the historic HH Shuttle. The shuttle was a short service that used to run between Court Street and Hoyt–Schermerhorn during the 1930s and 40s.
Despite the sweltering heat, attendees happily boarded the vintage train cars and rode along the same two-stop route that Brooklynites of the past used to.
Regina Shepherd, the museum’s acting director, said riding on a moving train can immediately beckon nostalgia.
“If you come [to] visit the museum, most of the time our trains don't move,” she said. “So this is specifically for the 50th anniversary that we're running the trains this weekend. There was more movement of the cars than we have today.”
The museum, which originally opened as a temporary exhibit in 1976 to celebrate America’s bicentennial, now shares its 50th anniversary with the nation's 250th birthday.
Chris Qi, a 24-year-old from Sunset Park, was particularly inspired by the nation’s semiquincentennial to visit the museum.
“I was already in the area with friends who are visiting and thought that [it] would be a good idea to be here for the 250th anniversary of our country,” Qi said. “And I think it was just one of those things where I've heard a lot about the museum.”
“The history of it is really interesting to me, and it's just very iconic,” said Peter Teele, a 33-year-old Bushwick resident. “I wanted to check it out and also see the older 70s [train] cars.”
New York transit enthusiasts can also take part in three different scavenger hunts organized by the museum in its new app launched last month. The app contains two smaller scavenger hunts at Grand Central Terminal and the museum’s main Brooklyn location, as well as a larger citywide scavenger hunt for 50 unique transit history sites spread across the five boroughs.
The museum has grown a lot in the 50 years it has operated, Shepherd said.
“Back when I started, [if] we had 200 people come on a Saturday, it was a busy day,” said Shepherd, who has worked at the museum for about 20 years. “And now we have 30 minute time slots where we get over 200 people!”
The museum is set to host two more nostalgia rides this summer, one to Coney Island and the other to the Rockaways. Click here for details.
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