New York Subway

In the 1900s the second largest city in the world, with a population of over 3,000,000, was
New York City. Most of the people that lived in New York City lived in Manhattan (the lower east side). Because of the huge population in Manhattan, it was nearly impossible to get around. It took hours just to get from Wall Street to Harlem. Many people wanted to move out of Manhattan, but it wasn't practical to do so, considering that much of the rest of New York was undeveloped.

In March 1900, ground was broken in Manhattan for an electric powered subway. It took 12,000 workers to build the subway. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the one responsible for building this subway. They cut a trench to accommodate a 55-foot wide and 15-foot high tunnel. The rails were laid and stations built, the finished work was enclosed in steel beams, and a shallow layer of fill and paving was placed over the trench.

The development of the subway caused New York to flourish in many ways. It allowed people to be able to live in a completely different area than where they worked. It made travel much easier. When subways were built, houses, neighborhoods, and shops were built around them. Because transportation became much easier with the invention of subways, the bulk of the population of New york spread beyond Manhattan.

The subway opened on October 27, 1904. On that day 150,000 people paid a nickel to ride the subway. New Yorkers loved the subway because it was quick, but also because it was clean; it didn't produce smoke or cinders. It was the fastest city transportation system in the world. Its four-track design enabled both express and local trains to run in each direction.

In conclusion, the subway was vital to the development of New York. It allowed people to get from place to place much quicker. It also expanded job opportunities for people to places other than the city that they lived in. The subway was revolutionary for New Yorkers.