The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
It is one of the world’s oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations – a total of 472 in operation throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world, as well as the seventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world.
Photograph of an elevated railroad station constructed by the Manhattan Railway Company.
View looking southwest from the intersection of 33rd Street and Broadway. The Sixth Avenue Elevated Railway is shown on Sixth Avenue where it crosses Broadway.
A view looking down elevated railroad tracks. A train is approaching around the curve.
Located at the intersecton of Bowery and Division Street, Chatham Square was an express station on the IRT Third Avenue Line. It had two levels.
Crowds of shoppers fill the busy streets north of 14th Street in the shade of the elevated train which once ran along 6th Avenue.
Photograph of a busy scene on the Bowery as pedestrians make their way across the street and under the elevated overpass.
Construction underway at the City Hall Loop. In 1904, the first subway train departed from City Hall station with Mayor McClellan at the controls.
Chatham Square was an express station on the demolished IRT Third Avenue Line. Its lower level served trains of the IRT Second and Third Avenue Lines.
Horses and carriages move along the underpass of the elevated train tracks following 8th Avenue.
Young folk selling gum at the exit from the downtown side of the Lexington Avenue subway station
Aerial photograph of the Herald Square elevated railroad and Sixth Avenue near 34th Street.
Aerial photograph of Manhattan looking north over Washington and Greenwich Streets with Trinity Place on the right.
Photograph of midtown commuters waiting at a platform for the Third Avenue elevated train.
Photograph shows an elevated perspective of Cooper Union facing north and flanked along its east wall by the Third Avenue elevated railroad.
Photograph shows an elevated perspective of Cooper Union facing north and flanked along its east wall by the Third Avenue elevated railroad.
Photograph of people hanging around the subway entrance of the 8th Avenue Line in midtown Manhattan.
Photograph of passengers waiting in line to buy tokens at a subway station booth.
The first subway token change occurred in 1970 when the fare was raised to 30 cents and 50 million tokens were minted.
Color photograph of the Third Avenue Elevated Railroad tracks on a clear day.
Photograph of the tile-clad control room at City Hall Subway Station in downtown Manhattan.
Learn all about NYC’s distant past as "Mannahatta" or the "Island of Many Hills".
Research the natural forces that shaped the environment, along with the people who formed the landscape and culture.
Welcome to the History of New York City - A Unique Online Gallery of NYC's Origins, Curated and Digitally Restored by Fine Print New York.
We're opening our archives to present this Collection of Vintage Photos, Historical Images and Rare Lithographs. This Exclusive Series of High Quality Art Prints are only Available for Purchase Exclusively on this Site.
Joseph Gornail, printer/photographer and founder of Fine Print New York. Joseph grew up in SoHo, Manhattan and is part of a long lineage of NYC printers, learning the family trade from his grandfather. While working for Dolo Records/Stretch Armstrong in 1996, Joseph founded All City Marketing & Printing, and in 1999 Co-Founded the legendary street wear company "Orchard Street " with lifelong friends Benjamin Holloway and Greig Bennett. Fine Print NYC was established in 2004 with a Nike project being the launchpad for a commercial printing company that has not only survived, but thrived in the digital age.
Steven Garcia, designer/illustrator and creative director of Fine Print New York. Born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Steven attended Fashion Industries High School and F.I.T. before building a successful career at Saatchi & Saatchi for as a professional retoucher and storyboard artist in 1995. Steven started ShinyDesign in 1998 and partnered with Fine Print in 2004 as the exclusive design firm for the company. Steven has independently worked on major advertising campaigns for many brands over the years, such as Snapple, The Waldorf Astoria and Sony to name a few.
Together, Joseph & Steven are responsible for the curation and direction of the History101.nyc project, which has been under development since 2006. They have a long history of collaborating together, going back as far as 2001 when Joseph was gallery manager and Steven was a curator at The New York City Urban Experience, an art gallery & museum that was located at 85 South Street and owned by Mike Saes of the Nike Bridge Runners and True Yorkers.
We cover a great portion of the city's history, ranging from its earliest days as New Amsterdam to the late 1980s. Artists are currently working on photos from the 90s to present day,
Here's a current list of what is covered:
There are currently 714 photos, lithographs, illustrations and maps on this site. Each one has been digitally restored and cleaned up by hand, which makes this collection truly unique.
Digital licenses are available for educational institutions (schools, universities, non-profit organizations). Please contact legal@fineprintnyc.com to discuss conditions for licensing.
NOTE: Any form of commercialization or redistribution of these images, either as tangible goods or third party licenses, is expressly forbidden.
History101.nyc is an ad-free and non-profit learning resource. We do not sell prints of these images. All operational costs are covered by Fine Print NYC
Absolutely! Feel free to send us an email with a preview of the image and we will let you know if it's a good fit for the archives.
We welcome any feedback that you may have. If it proves to be historically accurate the changes will be reflected on the site shortly after our correspondence.
We have collaborated with NYC's Municipal Archives, The Tenemant Museum, Bronx Historical Society and a number of prominent NYC photographers to produce a series of limited edition postcards which free of charge, but only available via street distribution, primarily in Manhattan.
Yes, we can repair, restore and cleanup your old family photos, slides and negatives. You can either send us the digital files or the original photos to be professionally scanned.
We can restore just about any level of damage or signs of aging, within reason. As long as most of the photo is intact we cn work with it. The one flaw we cannot fix is source material that is blurry. A poorly take photo can only be improved so much.
315 Madison Avenue • NYC 10017 • (212)619-5446 • art@fineprintnyc.com
History101.NYC is an ad-free learning resource available to the public at no charge.
This project is dedicated to exploring New York’s fascinating heritage through the restoration of vintage photographs and prints.