BMT Centennial with vintage subway cars in Brighton Beach

BMT Subway Centennial Photos

The new and the pretty old enter the Brighton Beach station

On June 22, 1915, on a seasonally cool but fair Tuesday, The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, or BRT, (which would become the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT), opened its first subway with much pomp and circumstance with Manhattan to Coney Island service. Its first train crossed the East River to Downtown Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge and then headed out to Coney Island using the new Fourth Avenue Subway and Sea Beach Lines. The inaugural ride from Chambers Street to Coney Island took 48 minutes, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. It was New York City’s second subway company and, in its time, one of the most innovative transit networks in the world.

The BMT’s centennial was relived today at the New York Transit Museum where MTA New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco took part in the festivities. In addition, nostalgia trains will be put into service as part of the centennial celebration this weekend on June 27 and 28, when customers can ride the vintage subway cars between noon and 4 p.m. with just the swipe of a MetroCard.