A Brief History of New York City Transit Maps (1888-2022)


Lab Reports, Timelines
Screenshot of timeline, Title page of my TimelineJS design, A Brief History of New York City Transit Maps (1888-2022)

Link to Timeline

Introduction

For this lab project, I decided to do an investigation on the history of New York City transit maps, specifically on maps that track the history and development of the NYC Subway system that exists today. I wanted to know how the subway system began, and at what scale it started at versus where it ended up, and the timelines associated with those changes. I was curious about this because the sheer scale of a project connecting five boroughs with mass transit seems like an overwhelming endeavor, even for a city as large as NYC, and thus I wanted to see what changes the system had to undergo over the course of its development, and the time those changes took to be implemented. 

Screenshot of timeline, 1888 USGS Survey Map of Brooklyn Quadrangle

Looking at the design of these maps, I was also curious how the designs of the maps, and the selection of information included in the designs, evolved as the train system developed. When I saw the first map from 1888, and thought about the current MTA map, I was very intrigued to know how the map grew from a heavily detailed survey map to the simple and streamlined interactive map used by subway-goers today. 

Tools and Materials

Screenshot, Template on GoogleSheets used to create TimelineJS design

To create this timeline, I used the web-based tool TimelineJS, created by the Northwestern University Knight Lab. This tool is an open-access free tool available through your web browser, which links to a GoogleSheet document using a template provided on the TimelineJS website. 

Screenshot, NYCSubway.org Website, Historical Maps page

The dataset, which in this case was a set of historical New York City transit maps, was taken from a detailed compilation of historical maps on NYCSubway.org. This website, started in 1995 by David Pirmann, is dedicated to compiling digitized materials about the history of the New York City subway system. Among their offerings is a page linking to images of historical maps, many of which were scanned and contributed by volunteers who share an interest in the history of the subway.  They start in 1888, and continue through to 2019. Some are scanned historical documents, and others are re-creations done by volunteers and submitted to the site. 

To find the contextual information, which appears alongside the selected maps as text blocks, I used the following websites that detail the history and development of rapid transit in New York City:

Methodology and Interpretation

Screenshot of timeline, 1924 Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Lines, Rapid Transit Division

For my sample, I selected only maps that were scans of original historical documents, and which showed a similar portion of the subway system as the current MTA subway maps show today, to be easier for viewers to compare and contrast. There are many more maps on NYCSubway.org than what is included in this Timeline, but I selected eight historical maps for inclusion, in addition to the current 2022 subway map, to make up my sample. I wanted to pick maps that showed clear visual changes, either in design of the map itself, or in the addition of new train lines, with an aim to highlight the differences throughout the development of NYC transit maps. 

Screenshot of timeline, 1939 BMT World’s Fair Special Route Map

There is a concentration of more maps in the early history of the NYC transit system, from 1888-1939. This is because these were the years when much of the construction of the train lines that were later joined to create the complete NYC subway system was being done, and thus there are far more recognizable changes to maps from this period. Additionally, because the subway system was made up of three independent lines run by three privately-owned companies prior to 1940, the maps varied greatly depending on which company was responsible for the design. 

Post-1940, though the branding and design of the transit maps continued to develop, the train lines were largely completed, aside from some smaller extensions of existing lines. So for the selections from 1940-2022, I was able to space out my selections without losing out on major developments occurring in the transit system and mapping designs of these decades. 

Screenshot of timeline, 1959 New York City Subway Guide

The resulting timeline gives a brief overview of the history and development of transit maps in New York City, with a specific focus on NYC subway maps (rather than trolleys, buses, etc.). As a tool, it walks viewers through both the development of the subway system in NYC, but also through the aesthetic evolutions of the rapid transit maps. As the subway system grew, the maps became more streamlined and singular in purpose. In earlier maps, neighborhoods and important locations in the boroughs were labeled in the transit maps, as well as the train routes and stations. In later maps, especially those from 1959-2022, the underlying land masses became simpler and simpler, only labeled by borough, while the information on the train lines became more detailed: the individual train lines became color coded, information on express/local lines was included, information on station accessibility and transfer locations was added, and detailed keys to help viewers navigate the maps, and thus the transit systems, became the norm. 

Screenshot of timeline, 2022 MTA New York City Subway Map

Reflection

In reflecting on this project, I think that a way to make it more successful would be to increase the number of events on the timeline, to include all digitized historical maps currently available. That didn’t seem suitable for this particular assignment, which recommended 5-10 events be included on each timeline, but if I were to revisit the project without that constraint in mind, a timeline that combined all of the available historical maps would be a useful tool to those studying the history of rapid transit in NYC. I also think that the information contained could benefit from a scholar who studies mass transit in New York City to assist with creating the text copy for this tool; though I believe I did adequate research and stated a factually true history in the text included in this timeline, I do not have an educational background in this area, and assistance from a scholar well-versed in the topic would allow for more detailed and in-depth analysis of these maps. 

References

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. (2022). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brooklyn_Rapid_Transit_Company&oldid=1069265543

Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation. (2022). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brooklyn%E2%80%93Manhattan_Transit_Corporation&oldid=1066559209

Contemplating and Commemorating Rapid Transit in New York City | Museum of the City of New York. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.mcny.org/story/contemplating-and-commemorating-rapid-transit-new-york-city

Independent Subway System. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Independent_Subway_System&oldid=1058036133

Interborough Rapid Transit Company. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interborough_Rapid_Transit_Company&oldid=1060748409

Mta.info | 110 Years of the Subway. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from http://web.mta.info/nyct/110Anniversary/history.htm

Mta.info | Celebrating 100 Years of the BMT. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from http://web.mta.info/nyct/100BMT/

nycsubway.org: Early Rapid Transit in Brooklyn, 1878-1913. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Early_Rapid_Transit_in_Brooklyn,_1878-1913

nycsubway.org: The First Subway. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_First_Subway

nycsubway.org: The Independent Subway. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_Independent_Subway