Museum in Stony Brook: 1887 Streetcar Unveiled

The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook opened a new permanent exhibition on October 15, featuring an 1887 horse-drawn streetcar that visitors can board. The installation, titled Riding Towards Justice, is housed within the museum's 40,000-square-foot Carriage Museum. This space currently displays more than 100 historic vehicles and over 800 carriage-related artifacts. The project followed two years of planning and development.

Sarah Abruzzi, Co-Executive Director of Operations, stated that the museum aimed to provide an immersive experience for visitors of all ages and abilities. The streetcar, built by the J. G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, was previously used in the 1969 film Hello, Dolly, starring Barbra Streisand. The vehicle was donated to the museum in 2019 after years in a private collection. It has been repainted to resemble a New York City streetcar for the exhibit.

Funding for the project came from a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and contributions from 33 community members. Southside Design & Building of Brooklyn executed the construction work. A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local leaders included a special proclamation from Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, who declared the day Riding Towards Justice Day in the Town of Brookhaven.

The exhibition focuses on the fight for equal rights in public transportation, specifically examining the case of Elizabeth Jennings. Jennings, a Black school teacher, challenged her exclusion from a New York City streetcar in 1854. This action occurred nearly 100 years before Rosa Parks. The display includes text panels and a video portrayal of court testimony from Jennings's case to explain how activists in the 1850s and 1860s helped change regional transit systems.

To ensure accessibility, the museum installed a wheelchair ramp for boarding the 24-foot-long vehicle. The interior features LED lighting and design modifications to create a fully accessible space. Large projected videos of early 20th-century New York City traffic scenes are displayed to enhance the environment. A smell-based interactive element allows visitors to experience scents associated with late-19th-century streets.

Consultant advisors for the project included Mia Bay, Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge, and Richard Bell, Professor of History at the University of Maryland. Other contributors included Janice Majewski from the Institute for Human Centered Design and Rebecca Shulman of Museum Questions Consulting. Nina Sangimino, the museum's curator, noted that the exhibit allows history to come alive for families and students.

The Long Island Museum is located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook. It is open Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with free admission after 5 p.m. The museum is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Adult admission is $15, while seniors and students pay $10. Children ages 6 and under enter for free. The phone number for inquiries is 631-751-0066.