NEW YORK—Rows of black and white Miss Subway beauty contest photos from the ‘40s to the ’70s line up in juxtaposition above their colorful present day ones. The exhibit currently showing at the New York Transportation Museum is a display of a forgotten history of New York, and brings insight that overturns our notions of what women from that era can accomplish.
Miss Subways was a beauty contest run by the Subways Advertising committee from 1941–1976.
Each month, a young woman from a middle- or working-class background had her face on display on all the subway cars, along with a brief excerpt about herself and her aspirations.
