In true New York form, almost immediately after the subway was open to the public, advertisers carted large signs down to the subway platforms. McClellan, acted as the conductor for the first subway ride, a ride which departed City Hall and arrived at 145th and Broadway in 26 minutes.

According to reports from the New York Times, 150,000 passengers rode the subway on its opening day. The first subway line ran from City Hall to 145th Street, a distance of more than nine miles, and the fare was only a nickel. The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway (or IRT) was the first subway company in New York and operated the subway under an agreement with Mr. City Hall station was the most elegant of all stations along the Interborough Rapid Transit subway line, featuring elaborate “skylights and ornate Grueby Faience tiles.”(3) Some of the skylights can still be spotted peeking through the foliage in the modern-day City Hall Park. McDonald won the bid from the City of New York to construct the first subway line at an estimated cost of nearly $34 million. They also only worked on the numbered subway lines, as the lettered lines were constructed later. The early stations designed by Heins & LaFarge are identified by ornate bas relief plaques and swirling flourishes. At a time when cities were expanding rapidly and haphazardly, the City Beautiful movement was an urban planning idea which held that beautifully designed spaces were key to creating more livable and orderly cities. The station design was influenced by the Beaux Arts movement and the City Beautiful movement. Heins & LaFarge was a New York-based architectural firm that had previously won the contract for the Cathedral of St.

This station was designed by architects Heins & LaFarge with vaulted tile ceilings crafted by Rafael Guastavino. Guastavino was a Spanish engineer known for his sweeping arches, a feature that he included in other prominent NYC landmarks such as Grand Central Terminal and the Queensboro Bridge.

The first subway train to hold public passengers in New York City departed from City Hall station in 1904.

New york subway station