Time capsule from 1950 unearthed outside NYU’s 370 Jay St.

Nicole Brown, Editor-in-Chief

  • Gabrielle Shubert, director of the New York City Transit Museum, welcomes the crowd to the unveiling of the time capsule.

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  • Carmen Bianco, president of New York City Transit, speaks to the crowd about the history of 370 Jay St., once the headquarters of New York City Transit.

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  • Construction workers lift the capsule out of the sidewalk with a crane.

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  • Construction workers lift the capsule out of the ground.

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  • Construction workers lift the capsule out of the ground.

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  • A construction worker opens the capsule with a hammer and chisel.

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  • Carmen Bianco, president of New York City Transit, helps open the capsule.

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  • Hudson Archival conservator Toya Dubin (right) examines the contents of the capsule.

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  • Carmen Bianco, president of New York City Transit, puts on gloves before picking up the artifacts.

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  • Hudson Archival conservator Toya Dubin looks at a glass box that the New York City Transit officials believe once held a microfilm of the construction plans for 370 Jay St.

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  • Hudson Archival conservator Toya Dubin cleans the glass box found in the capsule.

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A time capsule buried in 1950 was unearthed outside 370 Jay St., the former New York City Transit headquarters, on Oct. 1. The building will be renovated in 2015 by NYU and become home to the Center for Urban Science and Progress and many of the university’s incubators. NYU had hoped to recover a microfilm of the original building plans in this time capsule, but it was ruined by water damage and erosion.

A nickel and some newspapers were also found in the muddied capsule. New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco, Hudson Archival conservator Toya Dubin and New York City Transit Museum officials were at the unveiling. The capsule and the artifacts will be on display in the museum early next year.