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Cars in New York
Celebrating a century of honking horns, engaged engines, and panicked pedestrians
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When one thinks of the myriad social elements which make up the tapestry of life in New York City, “car culture” is not exactly the first thing that springs to mind. The city is perpetually packed with honking, speeding automobiles, but they’re not really a defining part of most full-time New Yorkers’ lives. After all, between the fleet of subways, buses, and taxies that constantly bustle about over and below our streets, and the fact that New York’s grid layout often makes simply walking a viable mode of transportation, many New Yorkers get around just fine without ever having to rely on the unappealing aspect of parking, storing and maneuvering an automobile through the labyrinth that is Manhattan. However, despite a number of alternatives, cars have a long and involved history stemming from within and around New York, a century of progress which is being celebrated through August 8 at the Museum of the City of New York in their new exhibition, Cars, Culture and the City.
As it turns out, cars and New York City have been intrinsically linked for the past one hundred years. Assorted car manufacturers have had their head quarters located in the city; it’s perhaps ironic that a locale renowned for its extensive public transportation was in fact the launching pad for any number of popular personal vehicles through the 20th century, but as the collection of photos, models and videos in the exhibit attest to, New York was the city that launched a thousand cars. Moody, black-and-white noirish pictures of “General Motors” in blazing neon lights atop an office building, or a 1950s, very deco vehicle reflected in a wall-sized window contrast to the garish, brightly-colored advertising posters for cars of the 1930s and later. Features on concept and unrealized automobiles give us a great glance into the “future that might have been”, and ads for various vehicles through the years highlight the link that many have made subconsciously between cars and New York, despite what the reality may actually be.
In addition to the standing exhibition, the Museum is also hosting a series of special public programs detailing the world of car design, both in the past and potential future; current programs are planned for May 27, June 1 and June 28, while the exhibition runs through August 8. For more information on this engaging exhibit, please visit www.mcny.org.