Going Underground: The History of the New York Subway System

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The New York City subway system, which opened in 1904 and is the world's largest rapid transit system serving over 5.7 million daily riders on weekdays. Source: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York City’s subway system is such an integral part of the city that it is hard to image the Big Apple without it. The city would have a much different look if the underground transit system had never been built and elevated railcars were used instead, as was originally planned. It took a debilitating natural disaster to prove to the people of New York that a subway system was a viable option. Let’s go underground to look at the conception and construction of the New York subway.