50 Years of the New York Transit Museum

Summary

Podcast Summary: 50 Years of the New York Transit Museum

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Release Date: May 14, 2026
Guest: Regina Shepherd, Director of the New York Transit Museum

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Episode Overview

To celebrate the New York Transit Museum’s 50th anniversary, host Alison Stewart invites Regina Shepherd, the museum’s director, to reflect on the museum’s storied history, the distinctive role the subway has played in city life, and a slate of dynamic programming and festivities planned for this milestone year. The episode celebrates the museum’s roots as a “labor of love” by MTA employees in the 1970s, unpacks the history of the space itself, touches on highlights of the upcoming anniversary events, and explores how the Transit Museum continues to honor and tell the story of public transportation in New York.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Museum (00:59–02:39)

• Bicentennial Beginnings:
  • The museum opened July 4, 1976, mounted by transit workers eager to showcase pride in New York’s subway as an “American icon.”

    “All of the pride that these transit workers had in the system and the fantastic ability to move people and actually really make the city work was what they wanted to show off.”
    — Regina Shepherd (01:56)

• A Labor of Love:
  • The original exhibition was put together by workers themselves without much budget.

    “These people were doing it all on their own...this was really a labor of love.”
    — Regina Shepherd (02:18)

2. The System and the Museum in the 1970s (02:42–04:19)

• Transit System Then and Now:
  • The 1976 system struggled with aging trains and graffiti, and was in a period of rebuilding—a theme echoed today.

    “There were some old trains running, some problems with graffiti. And it was definitely a time of rebuilding.”
    — Regina Shepherd (02:46)

• Court Street Subway Station History:
  • The site was originally intended for the Second Avenue Subway and only ran service for 10 years before closing.

    “The train ran a whole three blocks, the HH shuttle line. And so after 10 years, it shut down...”
    — Regina Shepherd (03:38)

  • Before becoming a museum, it was used for employee training and movie shoots.
• Why the Exhibit Resonated:
  • Museum quickly became popular with locals and school groups, securing its future.

    “There were 20 school groups that came and all of these other visitors...that was how they were able to kind of leverage it for the future.”
    — Regina Shepherd (03:08)

3. Museum as Space (04:19–04:40)

• Unique Museum Experience:
  • The physical location features a mezzanine for exhibits and operational tracks, allowing onsite displays of vintage trains.

4. 50th Anniversary Celebrations and Initiatives

• Transit Scavenger Hunt (04:57–05:41)

  • Launches in June, running through October; app-based game takes participants across 50 transit-connected locations.

    “It will take you through all the modes of transit. There are 50 stops and encourages people just to explore the city.” — Regina Shepherd (04:57)

• Hints about the Hunt:

  • Stops might involve Grand Central secrets or even seeking “dashing Dan and dashing Dottie” on Long Island Railroad posts.

• Parade of Trains (05:41–06:26)

  • Upcoming Brighton Beach event invites visitors to ride classic subway cars spanning 1904 to the present.

    “For the tap of your Omni card, you can take a trip through time and jump on board three or four different vintage trains...” — Regina Shepherd (05:50)

  • Oldest running trains include the 1904 BU wooden elevated cars:

    “They’re old gate cars that just have doors at the end and rattan seats. And they don’t even have ceiling fans because you just open the windows for air.” — Regina Shepherd (06:12)

• 50 Years of Stories Exhibit (06:26–06:53)

  • Opening June 17: highlights from the museum’s vast archives, including half a million photographs.

5. Museum "Merch" and Memorabilia (06:53–07:54)

• Special Anniversary Merchandise:
  • Limited edition pins, bags, and hats, with playful nods to subway lore (Ex: Cardvark mascot, subway mermaid ad).
  • Director’s favorite: a pin mimicking the museum’s subway entrance, featuring a magnetic, light-up globe.

    "One of my favorite things about it is that it's actually magnetic and the globe will light up."
    — Regina Shepherd (07:34)

6. Artistic Collaborations and Community Engagement (07:56–08:36)

• Partnerships:
  • Film Forum movie series on films shot in the subway.
  • Vinyl nights and a September disco party at the museum.

    “We also have vinyl nights. We're gonna have a disco party at the museum in September.”
    — Regina Shepherd (08:12)

7. Uncovering Hidden Gems in the Archives (08:36–09:27)

• Surprising Finds:
  • Memos revealing the care and emotion (“labor of love”) behind the museum’s founding.
  • New displays: a chandelier from the original City Hall station, and the original (damaged) Grand Central clock face.

    “…we will have one of the old chandeliers from the original City Hall station...And we also have one of the faces of the Grand Central clock.”
    — Regina Shepherd (08:45)

8. The Museum’s Deeper Message and Legacy (09:27–10:16)

• Appreciating the Workforce:
  • A tribute to the dedication and expertise required to keep NYC moving.

    “I want them to be impressed by the amount of work and understand how hard it is to keep New York City and the region moving and working and the dedication that it takes to do so.”
    — Regina Shepherd (09:46)

• Museum Structure:
  • Run as a division of the MTA with nonprofit partners, with the collection owned by the transit authority.

9. Social Media and New Ways to Engage (10:16–10:36)

• Transit Secrets Series:
  • New content across NYTM’s social platforms reveals hidden-in-plain-sight aspects of transit, open to all.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• New York’s Resilience:

  “The entire Transit Museum is about the labor of love for this workforce. And it’s like our love back to them and to New York.”
  — Regina Shepherd (09:27)

• Director’s Pin Reveal:

  “So the pin I have on looks like a subway entrance and is the Transit Museum entrance...the green globe that kind of symbolizes the entrance for the subway will, like, light up.”
  — Regina Shepherd (07:34)

• Public Connection:

  “We love to talk about everything, and through the lens of public transportation, you can talk about art, history, culture.”
  — Regina Shepherd (08:12)

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Important Event Timestamps

• Museum History & Creation — 00:59–02:39
• Court Street Station Background — 03:38–04:19
• Scavenger Hunt Details — 04:57–05:41
• Parade of Trains — 05:41–06:26
• Anniversary Exhibit — 06:26–06:53
• Merchandise Highlights — 06:53–07:54
• Collaborations & Parties — 07:56–08:36
• Artifacts & Surprises — 08:36–09:27
• Workforce Appreciation — 09:27–10:16
• Social Media Campaign — 10:16–10:36

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Recap

This lively retrospective and preview captures the essential “labor of love” ethos of the New York Transit Museum and the workers who make New York City move. Regina Shepherd not only highlights the museum’s history and upcoming festivities but also offers a heartfelt reminder of the dedication, creativity, and hidden stories running beneath the city’s streets. Listeners come away with a sense of the city’s transit system as a living, evolving part of New York’s culture—and are encouraged to explore, celebrate, and look with fresh eyes at the subway system’s centurial legacy.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. 50 years ago, as America marked its bicentennial, some New York transit workers want to celebrate another American icon, the city's subway system. So they set up an exhibit in Brooklyn's decommissioned Court street subway station. The highlight was a collection of vintage subway cars, but the exhibit had another transit artifacts like fare boxes and turnstiles. It opened on July 4, 1976. It was supposed to close on Labor Day, but it proved to be so popular that it became the New York Transit Museum. And it's still going strong. This year it is marking its 50th anniversary. And joining me to preview the celebration is museum director Regina Shepherd. Regina, welcome to all of it.

[Regina Shepherd]

Thank you. So happy to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

So I gave you a quick overview of the museum's story. Why did the employees want to use 1776 to celebrate the city's transit system?

[Regina Shepherd]

You know, the 70s in New York was not exactly a time when everyone was celebrating New York. And all of the pride that these transit workers had in the system and the fantastic ability to move people and actually really make the city work was what they wanted to show off. And so they took this opportunity.

[Alison Stewart]

Now, I gave sort of an overview of how it started. Was I right or do you mean to add anything to it?

[Regina Shepherd]

Sure. I mean, what I can add is like the labor of love that it was like the city, the transit system didn't have a lot of money, and so these people were doing it all on their own, Right? And transit workers like today, they have access to architects, designers, press people, plumbers, carpenters. And so this was really a labor of love that they did to Pop up over the summer.

[Interviewer/Host]

The 1970s, 1976.

[Alison Stewart]

What was the 1976 transit system like?

[Regina Shepherd]

Well, you know, it wasn't at its pinnacle right now. There were some old, you know, old trains running, some problems with graffiti. And it was definitely a time of rebuilding. Right. Time of retiring new. Retiring cars and buying new ones, which feels very similar to today and kind of reinvestment into the system.

[Interviewer/Host]

Why was the exhibit so popular at the time, and who was it popular with?

[Regina Shepherd]

I think it was popular with everyone, which we still are today, I'd like to say. But there were locals coming in and a lot of school groups. There was a press release in, like, November of 1976, which was one of the kind of stories that we like to tell of how it kind of continued on, where you had over a thousand people. There were 20 school groups that came and all of these other visitors. And so in the 70s, that was how they were able to kind of leverage it for the future and kind of keep it going.

[Interviewer/Host]

What was going on at the Court street subway station? Why was it decommissioned?

[Regina Shepherd]

So the Court street station turns 90 this summer, and it was built to be the first stop of the second Avenue subway. And for New Yorkers, we know that the first three stations opened in 2016. So there was a big time between 90 years ago and 2016, as one can imagine. And so that tunnel into Manhattan wasn't built. And so it was just this little station that ran from 1936 to 1946. The train ran a whole three blocks, the HH shuttle line. And so after 10 years, it shut down. But they still use the space for trainings and various things. And in the late 70s, they opened it up for some movie shoots, which was how they cleaned it up and prepared it before the museum opened.

[Interviewer/Host]

So what made it work as a space for a museum in 76?

[Regina Shepherd]

So it was the. Because they were expecting a lot of people to be coming in through Manhattan. There's a huge mezzanine space which we now use for exhibits, and then two tracks that still connect to the rest of the system. So not only you in downtown Brooklyn by Borough hall, but you had the space to kind of do both exhibits and exhibit trains.

[Interviewer/Host]

We are talking about the New York Transit museum. It's turning 50 this year. We're previewing some of the events with Regina shepherd, the museum's director. Okay. There's lots of events going on. I want to talk about the transit scavenger hunt. Tell us a little bit more about this.

[Regina Shepherd]

This has been a dream of mine. For a long time and has been in the works. And so we have an app that will be a digital scavenger hunt that you can go on all summer. It launches in June and will be up through October. And it will take you through all the modes of transit. There are 50 stops and encourages people just to explore the city.

[Alison Stewart]

What's an example of something that would happen at a stop that someone would see on this app?

[Regina Shepherd]

So there I don't want to give too much away. So there are stops that are anything from something at Grand Central to kind of things that are hidden in plain s that you might walk by but are a substation that powered the subway and then. Or if you were out on Long Island, Long Island Railroad, looking for dashing Dan and dashing Dottie on a lamp post somewhere.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, so that gives us a little bit of a hint. The week after the app launches, there'll be a parade of trains. I just like saying that. Tell us what the parade of trains entails.

[Regina Shepherd]

Excellent. So we take over some tracks out at Brighton beach, and we take our vintage fleet of subway cars. So from 1904 through the present, you can take a current subway car there. And for the tap of your Omni card, you can take a trip through time and jump on board three or four different vintage trains that will be running back and forth at Brighton Beach.

[Alison Stewart]

Ooh, what's the oldest one can take?

[Regina Shepherd]

The 1904 BU's, which were elevated wooden train cars, will be running, and they're old gate cars that just have doors at the end and rattan seats. And they don't even have ceiling fans because you just open the windows for air.

[Alison Stewart]

On June 17th, the Transit Museum is opening an exhibit called 50 Years of Stories. What will I learn about in this exhibit?

[Regina Shepherd]

So the Transit Museum, over time, like many museums, built a collection up. And so we have over a million items in our collection now. About half a million photographs about construction and the various, you know, states of the subway over time or the whole transit system over time. And this is some highlights from it.

[Interviewer/Host]

I want to ask you about merch. Is there any special merch? Because I do like your gift shop.

[Regina Shepherd]

I love our gift shop and I love talking about merch. So we definitely have 50th anniversary merch. The tote bags, the pins, the hats. We have a whole collection of new, vintage, not vintage, but new pins that are special for the anniversary. There's one for Cardvark. If you are a Metro Card fan and know about the secret mascot of the Metro Card we have one that is a subway gate. There's one featuring a mermaid from one of the old ads. There are a variety of things that are coming out.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you have an awesome pin on. I know this is radio, but I want you to explain your pin to us.

[Regina Shepherd]

So the pin I have on looks like a subway entrance and is the Transit Museum entrance. And one of my favorite things about it is that it's actually magnetic and the globe will light up. So if you activate it, the green globe that kind of symbolizes the entrance for the subway will, like, light up.

[Interviewer/Host]

It just lit up. It's green. That's amazing.

[Regina Shepherd]

We've had so much fun with product this year.

[Interviewer/Host]

I bet you did. I bet you did. Wow, that's really cool. Yesterday on the show, we talked about the Transit Operas, a production of NYU Tisch's Opera Lab. This department. Do you see any other artistic collaborations happening this year?

[Regina Shepherd]

Yeah, I mean, we love to talk about everything, and through the lens of public transportation, you can talk about art, history, culture. One of the things I'm excited about is we're going to partner with Film Forum and do a film series of movies that were filmed in the subway. And there's just so many options. We also have vinyl nights. We're gonna have a disco party at the museum in September.

[Interviewer/Host]

Oh, that's fun.

[Regina Shepherd]

So there's a variety of things that we can do.

[Interviewer/Host]

Did you uncover anything in the archives that truly surprised you as you went through the 50 years in getting ready for this exhibition? And this whole year?

[Regina Shepherd]

You know, whenever we go through our archives, we, like, find something surprising. On this one, we found some old memos talking about the labor of love that the Transit Museum was, which just kind of having ev of the things you could see was amazing, but not exactly your question. But one of the things I'm really excited to see in the show is we will have one of the old chandeliers from the original City hall station will be up on display so you can take a close look at it. And we also have one of the faces of the Grand Central clock. One of the faces was damaged in the 60s, and in the 90s, they replaced it when they renovated Grand Central. And so you have the original face of the clock that you can kind of get up close.

[Alison Stewart]

And that's amazing that they saved it.

[Regina Shepherd]

It is, right? Once again, my theme here is that the entire Transit Museum is about the labor of love for this workforce. And it's like our love back to them and to New York. And so these are workers that were like, oh no, somebody needs to keep that. And those are the things that come into our collection.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah. What do you want people to think after going to the Transit Museum?

[Regina Shepherd]

I want them to be impressed by the amount of work and understand how hard it is to keep New York City and the region moving and working and the dedication that it takes to do so.

[Alison Stewart]

Explain the relationship between the Transit Museum and the mta.

[Regina Shepherd]

So the Transit Museum is a self supporting division of the mta, so we are part of it. Our collection is owned by the MTA, but we also have a nonprofit partner, five 1C3 friends at the New York Transit Museum that together creates the Transit Museum.

[Alison Stewart]

Is there anything I haven't asked you that I should have asked you about the 50th anniversary of the Transit Museum.

[Regina Shepherd]

The other thing I'd like to say is that we're doing some really fun social media. We have a whole series called Transit Secrets where if you follow us at NY Transit Museum, you can kind of find out more secrets in plain sight going across the agencies and learn something new.

[Alison Stewart]

The New York Transit Museum turns 50 this year. We've been previewing some of the events with Regina shepherd, the museum's director. Happy anniversary to you.

[Regina Shepherd]

Thank you so much.

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