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MTA Transit Museum

Brooklyn Heights, New York, United States

Entrance to the New York Transit Museum

Old subway cars

Inside one of the old cars used to collect fare money from stations

The MTA Transit Museum is a museum operated by the New York City Transportation Authority. It has a number of exhibits that explain how the subway was built, and how the subway system has evolved over the years.

The neatest part about the New York Transit Museum is the venue itself - the entire museum is built in an old subway station! This is most apparent when entering the museum. From afar, the building above the museum has banners on it announcing the museum, but to enter the museum itself, you descend into what looks like an ordinary subway entrance. Rather than having a list of the lines present at the station, the board above the stairway says "New York Transit Museum", and a list of the museums hours.

A note to visitors: since this is a "real" converted subway station, the temperature is what you would expect in a station. If it's cold outside, it will be cold inside. We visited in January, so it was quite cold. I don't know if the museum is air conditioned in the summer. This is probably worth checking if you plan on visiting on a hot day.

After entering the museum, there is a toll booth where visitors pay their admission, a gift shop, and the entrance to the exhibits. The first exhibit had pictures of workers building tunnels, and boards explaining how the tunnels were built.

The museum also contained an extensive exhibit on old subway turnstiles, models of old buses and trolleys, a small theater (that was playing Kennedy-related videos when we visited), and an "environmental quiz" area. Many of the exhibits are hands-on and fun for kids to play with.

The lower level of the museum is the "track level" - this really is an old subway station! The station has a collection of old subway cars, and a little board explaining what era the car was from. It is interesting to take a look at the old subway maps that were used, and the old ads that are still being displayed inside the cars.

I was disappointed that there wasn't really any explanation about how the subways operate today. New York has a huge subway system, and it would be fascinating to see how it works. For example, when riding the subway, I always see "red/yellow/green" switching signals, but I don't now exactly what they mean. How do multiple express trains combine onto a single track at some points without colliding? What does a "signal malfunction" or "track work" really mean? What large capital projects are being worked on now? How are they being completed?

Overall, the museum was interesting, and would definitely be a fun place to take kids. The museum could have been more enjoyable if they added some more substance about how subways work.

The Gift Shop

An exhibit on subway turnstiles

I was really impressed with the museums gift shop. They had done almost everything possible to monetize the logos of the MTA, Metrocards, and the subway lines. You could purchase mugs with station names or subway symbols on them. There were purses for sale made out of old subway maps. Pens, pencils, shirts, underwear, magnets, and anything else you can think of was available with MTA logos. If you're looking for any subway-related merchandise, this is the place to buy it! (There is also a merchandise outlet in Grand Central, so you don't need to make the trip out to Brooklyn if you're just looking to buy something).

Cost

Admission for adults is $5. Child admission is $3.

Estimated Visiting Time

Visitors should expect to spend between 2-3 hours at the museum.