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Arts & Entertainment

Photos: The Subway In The 1960s, When Platforms Had Horoscope Machines

By

Jen Carlson

Published Apr 26, 2013

Modified Apr 26, 2013

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"Helped by railway staff shining torches, passengers make their way along a ledge in a subway tunnel after underground trains had stopped during a power failure in New York." But why is everyone SO HAPPY? November, 1965. (Getty Images)

 

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By

Jen Carlson

Published Apr 26, 2013

Modified Apr 26, 2013

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The 1960s: when people smiled when being evacuated through subway tunnels and the platforms had horoscope machines on them. We asked the MTA about the machines—which you'll see in the second photo here—and they have no idea. We're checking in with the Transit Museum and will update if we find out more about those and other old platform offerings, in the meantime, click through for a look at the subway during the Mad Men-era of the 1960s, and here's some mass transit footage from the decade:

And a 1961 documentary about a day in the life of NYC's transit system.

You can also spend an hour inside 1960s NYC right here.

Tagged

1960s

flashback

history

subway

original

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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