Garden Excursion (2024/2025): Home

Hold on to your seats and take a trip down memory lane to explore the modes of transportation taken by visitors to reach the Garden since its opening and discover ways the transit system encouraged riders to travel to the New York Botanical Garden.

Prior to the establishment of the Botanical Garden-MetroNorth Station, the Harlem Division- New York Central and Hudson River RailRoad Bedford Park Station (Bronx Park) was reconfigured in 1901. Across from the Moshulu Gate Entrance, the MetroNorth station was adorned with decorative coniferous plants installed by the Garden’s staff and served as a lot area for automobiles. 

A round trip ticket to the Garden cost a quarter ($0.25 cents) whereas today, fare cost varies depending on one’s trip.  With north and south bound tracks, the trains operate from Grand Central Terminal to Westchester County and beyond. A subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority system, the Botanical Gardens-MetroNorth station remains a popular transportation source for commuters on a daily basis. Located on Southern Boulevard/Kazmiroff Boulevard, the station leaves Garden visitors in close proximity to the Library Building.

1. Botanical Garden Station, n.d. NYBG Mertz Library, Bronx, N.Y.
2. New York Central Railroad Station, Sept.1906, NYBG Mertz Library, Bronx N.Y.
3. NYBG. “How to reach the Botanical Garden.” Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 1900.

Before the subway trains transported people underground, select elevated railway trains (also known as “El trains”) were a main source of public transportation. Located in the southwestern corner of the grounds, the elevated approach was constructed by the Garden and paid for by the Manhattan Railway Company in 1901. 

The Third Avenue El train tracks were elevated above street level, leading people around New York City straight into the Botanical Gardens Bronx Park Station. From 1902-1951, the Garden’s elevated approach led visitors directly to the large, glasshouse Conservatory as well as other areas of the Garden. Overtime, as transit fare fees ranged from 5 cents to 15 cents, more visitors attended events, including exhibitions, lectures, seminars, and botanical courses. 

Plans to dismantle the El train service around the city stirred conversations about the train system and by 1973, the last Third Avenue El train fully ceased operations in the Bronx.

4. Twomey, Bill, and Thomas X. Casey. Northwest Bronx. Arcadia Pub, 2011.
5. The Elevated Approach, Oct.1906, NYBG Mertz Library, Bronx N.Y.
6. Visitors entering Garden from Elevated Approach, n.d., NYBG Mertz Library, Bronx, N.Y
7. City of New York Board of Transportation New York City Transit System 5 cent fare ticket,1954. Courtesy of New York Transit Museum
8. New York City Transit Authority ticket. Valid for one fare 15 cents,1940. Courtesy of New York Transit Museum.
9. “MTA Wants El Down Before It Falls Down.” The Journal Newspaper: Your Bronx Home Newspaper. 2 Aug.1972.

A significant marketing tool used to attract hundreds of people to take alternate modes of public transportation to the New York Botanical Garden were posters. Displayed across the Garden, and around the New York City area, posters bought visibility to the Garden and communicated a message: “Come to the Garden”.  Encouraged to tour the grounds and enjoy the space, posters provided visitors the opportunity to come to a historical landmark in the Bronx. 

Encouraging the public further, the MTA’s Culture Bus Loop service was created in 1973. The one-dollar ticket bus rides were popular, making large loops to various stops including parks and museums, around Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx, highlighting each borough’s unique attractions. Starting from Grand Course and 161 Street, the Bx 56 Culture Loop III bus took visitors to explore and learn about Bronx cultural institutions such as Poe Cottage, Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden. 

10. NYBG, “Come see what’s playing at The Garden.”,1994.
11. New York City Transit Authority. Enjoy Your New York: Ride the Bronx Culture Loop III. 1974.
12. "Culture Bus III Loops To 15 Points in Borough." Bronx Press-Review. n.d.

This exhibit was created by Mertz Resource Sharing Librarian Rose Vincent.

Kelsey Miller worked to design and install the physical component of this display in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library.

Thank you to the New York Transit Museum for providing additional resources to help create this display.

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