New York, beneath the surface
NYC subway in 1904: The first subway opens
On October 27, 1904, the IRT opened a 28-station subway from City Hall to 145th Street. This year-end map also includes surviving elevated infrastructure; its stop count is not the opening-day total.
Explore the 1904 interactive map →
What this map represents
This year-end reconstruction contains 65 modeled stops across 3 boroughs and about 24 mapped miles. These are counts from this project’s model, not official historical station or track-mile totals. Modern route colors identify corridors, not the services running in 1904.
The subway opens in 1904
1904: The first subway
On October 27, 28 stations linked City Hall with 145th Street, with local and express tracks along much of the route.
Source: nytransitmuseum.org
Sources and interpretation
Historical coverage and geometry are incomplete. Read the reconstruction method and limitations before interpreting station counts or route alignments. For opening day itself, see the original 28 stations.