Manhattan elevated railway, cable car and streetcar system, 1899 theater posters As late as World War

As late as World War II

The Chicago L system was originally built by four different companies

So a deal was struck in the State Legislature: two separate infrastructure taxes would be put to a vote: one for better mass transit

and weren't a millionaire who owned one of those newfangled automobile gizmos

Manhattan elevated railway, cable car and streetcar system, 1899 theater posters As late as World WarIn 1899, Manhattan was dirty, overcrowded, and booming as immigrants flooded the shores of the New World looking to start a better life. The electric trolley had been recently invented, but its superiority over the older manual cable car, which you can still see in San Francisco, wasn't apparent yet. The elevated railroads, so key to the city's expansion, had not yet been converted to electric operation. In this map, the NYC transit system looks an