File Under “Worth The Trip”: A Time Capsule Is Being Opened In Downtown Brooklyn On Wednesday


While this isn’t strictly in our coverage area, we just can’t deny how cool it is–at 11am this Wednesday, October 1, a time capsule buried in Downtown Brooklyn will be unearthed in front of a live audience.

Renovations at 370 Jay Street–MTA headquarters until about 25 years ago–are facilitating the removal of the capsule, which was reportedly compiled by then-Mayor William O’Dwyer using materials from October 1949 and buried in 1950. The capsule is believed to be in a metal chest under a cornerstone by the Downtown Brooklyn information kiosk, and will be extricated using a rope and pulley.

A conservator will be at the ceremony to carefully inspect the contents of the time capsule. The original contents will be displayed in the Transit Museum starting in 2015, and digitized and printed copies will reportedly be “used to inform NYU’s renovation plans.”

Plans for the future of NYU’s forthcoming Center for Urban Science and Progress have met with mixed reviews, but its past is undeniably awesome. To see the capsule unveiled this Wednesday, stop by 370 Jay Street (at the MetroTech Roadway) at 11am.

Photo via the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership