Guide to "Official New York Subway Map and Guide" , C0431

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The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

"Official New York Subway Map and Guide", C0431, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated by Jeffry Haggquist and Heidi Worley circa 2015.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in May 2024. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in June 2024.

Historical Information

Until 1940, the New York City subway system was separated into three companies: the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Company (BMT), and the Independent Subway System (IND). Even after all three companies were officially unified, changes to passenger-facing signage and wayfinding information progressed much more slowly. In 1957, graphic designer George Salomon submitted a proposal to the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) titled "Out of the Labyrinth." This proposal outlined several of the issues related to the sudden merging of the three companies and offered solutions to assist passengers, both local New Yorkers and tourists, in navigating the subway system more easily. In 1958, the NYCTA used Salomon's suggestions in their redesigned subway map, the first in the city's history to use a Beckian grid, a style named after Harry Beck who standardized the London Underground map, and featured eye-catching colors to distinguish operational routes in the three separate service divisions (IRT, BMT, and IND). This map design was used throughout the 1960s before being officially replaced with Massimo Vignelli's design between 1972-1978 and Michael Hertz's design in 1979, which remains largely the version still in use of as 2024.

Scope and Content

"Official New York Subway Map and Guide," 1961 edition. When unfolded, one side shows an annotated map of the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn with corresponding legends marking the various subway train lines and "Places to Visit" throughout the three boroughs. The other side includes three sections of text, the top labeled "The New York City Transit System: Its Past and Present," the middle labeled "Subway Guide to the City's Sights" and "Facts About the New York Subways," and the bottom containing Train Service tables, as well as the title page for when the map is folded.

Local transit -- New York Metropolitan Area
Local transit -- United States
Maps
New York (N.Y.)
Subways
Subways -- New York (State) -- New York -- Maps
Tourism
Transportation
Urban transportation