How New York Crowned the Car

Detroit may have been the Motor City, but New York City was where the car became king, according to a new book and exhibit which look at the history of the automobile in New York in the early 1900s.

1 minute read

March 26, 2010, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg

The exhibit is now open at the Museum of the City of New York, accompanied by the book "Cars, Culture and the City," by Phil Patton and museum curator Donald Albrecht.

"'Taking a look at what Park Avenue looked like with the horse and buggies, the car really transformed a lot, and you realize there's this amazing love affair with freedom of mobility - and the car really gave that to the average person,' said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

But the book by Mr. Albrecht and Mr. Patton makes clear that the automobile caught on first with upper-crust types. 'And since a lot of rich people lived in New York, the car was a New York thing,' Mr. Albrecht said.

He said that of the 8,000 cars in the United States in 1900, nearly a third were owned by New Yorkers. They raced them at City Hall Park and built getaway roads. William K. Vanderbilt II, a great-grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, built a parkway on Long Island."

FULL STORY: Cars and the City, Imperfect Together

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 in The New York Times

History / Preservation Land Use Transportation New York New York City Cars View More

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