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Officials to Unearth 65-Year-Old Time Capsule from Former MTA Headquarters

By Janet Upadhye | September 30, 2014 2:39pm
 The time capsule is underneath a cornerstone at the northeast corner of 370 Jay St.
The time capsule is underneath a cornerstone at the northeast corner of 370 Jay St.
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New York Transit Museum

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Officials are set to unearth a nearly 65-year-old time capsule from the former MTA headquarters on Jay Street, which will soon serve as the new home for NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress.

The capsule, hidden in the cornerstone at 370 Jay St. in 1949, contains microfilmed documents related to the construction of the building, according to a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article from Oct. 26, 1949.

The article says the capsule — a metallic chest — was created by then-Mayor William O’Dwyer and buried with the help of Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore and Transportation Chairman William Reid.

"It was common practice to bury documents related to a building by its cornerstone in case anything happened to the originals," said Eli Rumpf, spokesman for the New York Transit Museum.

"It also served to commemorate the building that was to be a big part of Brooklyn and New York transit history."

Brooklyn NY Daily Eagle 1949

The building served as the primary control center for internal transit communications as well as the counting house and money vaults for the entire city transit system up until a few years ago, Rumpf said.

The building, which is next to NYU-Poly near the corner of Myrtle Ave., will soon undergo renovations. Part of the building will be demolished to create a new six-story wing for state-of-the-art lab space, according to NYU officials.