The Subway at 100: General William Barclay Parsons and the Birth of the NYC Subway

Celebrating the centennial of the opening of the New York City subway system in 1904, this exhibition both salutes William Barclay Parsons, the first chief engineer of the subway, and recognizes the importance of the subway system to the life and growth of the city.

The exhibition focuses on Parsons as a collector, prominent New York City personage, military engineering specialist, educator, and, primarily, as chief engineer of the New York City subway system. Tracing the planning and financing stages of the project, the exhibition includes correspondence between Parsons and August Belmont, the major financier of the project, as well as photographs of the signing of the original contract. The construction phase of the subway system is documented by images of Parsons turning the first shovelful of earth and others showing the actual tunnel and street digging. Other images depict the beautiful iron artwork supplied by the Hecla Iron Works, publications and documents illustrating station ceramic work and station design, as well as the first subway tickets.

Reports and published works illustrate the growth and social and economic importance of the subway system to New York City, touching on subjects such as the importance of subway advertising, issues relating to women, and the environment. Environmental impact statements and other government reports on the Second Avenue subway proposal and the efforts to restore the IRT station at the World Trade Center site shed light on the future of the city's subway system.

Many items on view are drawn from the Library's William Barclay Parsons Collection; other materials are on loan from The New-York Historical Society, The Museum of the City of New York, The Transit Museum, The Museum of American Financial History, and the Parsons Brinckerhoff archives.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Library is offering a number of public programs relating to the subway system.