The Museum of the City of New York celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation.
The Museum is currently in the midst of a multi-year project to digitize its photographic and works-on-paper collections and has already uploaded more than 62,000 historic photographs of the city to its online Collections Portal. Visit the site to explore the city's past.
May is National Bike Month and we are pleased to offer a look back at the heyday of bicycling in the city. Don't forget to ride your bike to work during Bike to Work Week, May 16 through 20.
Bicycling in New York City
Organized Charity. Night Messenger Service.(01 of15)
Organized Charity. Night Messenger Service, ca. 1890, Jacob A. Riis, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Night messengers were young boys who delivered telegrams for telegraph offices and ran errands on the side such as fetching cigarettes and delivering notes. Child labor activists were concerned that the boys were being exposed to immoral elements since much of their night trade was with brothels and nightclubs and they were often asked to fetch or deliver illicit substances. New York was among the first states to enact a law prohibiting anyone younger than 21 working as a messenger after 10:00 p.m.
[Riverside Drive, with man and bicycle.](02 of15)
[Riverside Drive, with man and bicycle], 1893, photographer unknown, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Though there had been two-, three-, and four-wheeled human-powered vehicles in existence since the fifteenth century, the bicycle did not become popular or widely available until the 1860s. The exact history is murky, but it’s clear the first patents came from France. Michaux et Cie was the first company to mass produce bicycles.
(03 of15)
Bicycling, Riverside Drive at the Clermont, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. More than two million bicycles were sold in the United States in 1897, meaning one in 30 people owned one.
Bicycling, Riverside Drive at the Clermont(04 of15)
Sports, Bicycle Costume Prize Winner, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Contests for best bicycling costume were common for both men and women, and often accompanied bike races.
Bicycle Show, Madison Square Garden(05 of15)
Bicycle Show, Madison Square Garden, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.“The Great Bicycle Exhibition” packed Madison Square Garden in 1896. Attendance averaged more than 15,000 people per day.
Bicycle Show, Madison Square Garden(06 of15)
Bicycle Show, Madison Square Garden, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. The New York Times described the Fowler display as "gracefully designed" with white satin, purple velvet, and mirrors. The poster that reads “Sandow rides a Fowler” refers to strongman and father of bodybuilding Eugen Sandow.
Mrs. McCurdy's Friend - Grant's Tomb, Riverside Drive(07 of15)
Mrs. McCurdy's Friend - Grant's Tomb, Riverside Drive, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. In 1895 the New York Times reported that one Herbert Luey of Brooklyn had devised a modest bicycling costume that would allow women who had heretofore refrained from riding bicycles because of objections over the masculine outfits, to indulge in the popular pastime. The cleverly divided skirt, which was indistinguishable from a normal skirt, was described as “natty, and after the latest fashions.”
Sports, Bicycling, New York Streets.(08 of15)
Sports, Bicycling, New York Streets, 1896, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Bicycles played a big role in the evolution of “The New Woman,” a term that referred to women who rejected traditional roles and took jobs outside the home and / or became politically active. The bicycle offered an economical way for these women to get around and freed them from the restrictive clothing required by social fashions.
Street Scenes, Long Island City(09 of15)
Street Scenes, Long Island City, 1898, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Women who rode bicycles contended with social fears their bodies and constitutions were uniquely unsuited to such strenuous activity. It did not escape notice that this concern was expressed regarding an activity that allowed women increased freedom, but not when they worked long days in factories. Suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton embraced the bicycle as a weapon in their fight for women’s rights.
Sports, Bicyclists at a Salvation Army Meeting-Coney Island.(10 of15)
Sports, Bicyclists at a Salvation Army Meeting-Coney Island, 1897, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. The Ocean Parkway bicycle path still runs between Prospect Park and Coney Island. It’s the oldest bicycle path in the nation and opened on June 15, 1895, with a parade of 10,000 bicyclists.
Bicycling, Broadway(11 of15)
Bicycling, Broadway, 1898, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Bicycle clubs were popular in the late 19th century and provided social opportunities for established groups and recent immigrants alike. The machine’s accessibility democratized the pursuit of a certain kind of leisure, and the clubs often organized activities outside group rides, such as teas and games.
Prof. Fourcher(12 of15)
Prof. Fourcher, 1900, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.Stunt cycling was a popular entertainment. Theodore Fourcher toured the vaudeville circuit with his act.
Keith's Bicycle Track.(13 of15)
Keith's Bicycle Track, ca. 1901, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.Benjamin Franklin Keith ran a series of successful theaters offering variety entertainments ranging from works of the “legitimate” stage to sensational demonstrations of derring-do such as the one shown here.
Bicyclists, Dare Devil Schreyer(14 of15)
Bicyclists, Dare Devil Schreyer, 1905, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. A.M. (Max) “Daredevil” Schreyer was reportedly commanding $1,000 per appearance by the mid-teens. Alas, in 1919 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, one of his stunts went awry and he died a few days later from the injuries he sustained.
Prof. Fourcher(15 of15)
Prof. Fourcher, 1900, Byron Company, from the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York. Visit the Museum of the City of New York’s Collections Portal to see more than 62,000 historic images of the city. Prints are available for purchase.
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