Which American city opened its first subway line in 1904?

The American city that opened its first subway line in 1904 was New York City.

New York’s first underground subway opened on October 27, 1904, under the direction of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, or IRT. The initial route ran from City Hall in Lower Manhattan north through Manhattan to 145th Street in Harlem, using tunnels beneath Lafayette Street, Park Avenue, 42nd Street, and Broadway.

The subway transformed transportation in a rapidly growing city. More than 150,000 passengers rode on opening day, paying the original five-cent fare. Construction had begun in 1900 after New York adopted a plan for a comprehensive rapid-transit system led by engineer William Barclay Parsons.

The wording can cause confusion because Boston opened the United States’ first subway tunnel for streetcars in 1897, while New York already had elevated railways. The 1904 date refers specifically to New York City’s first underground subway line, the beginning of the system that grew into today’s extensive network.