Chappell Roan became the latest star to utilize the New York Transit Museum’s fleet of meticulously restored antique subway cars to shoot the music video for her latest single The Subway.
Since the “Midwest Princess” dropped the track and video in early August, fans have been using the song, which debuted at number three on Billboard’s Hot 100, in videos across the city’s transit network.
But those seeking the true backdrop can visit the Downtown Brooklyn museum and step directly into a piece of New York City’s transit history that has doubled as a stage for screens, both big and small, for nearly half a century.
Inside the decommissioned 1936 Court Street station, the museum brings the city’s transit past to life. About 20 restored cars from a rotating fleet of nearly 100 are on display at any given time, all open for visitors to step aboard and explore.
The cars range from 1904 wooden models to recently retired stock, each restored to a specific era with authentic period advertisements.
The R44 car used by Roan is already among the most popular with visitors, especially younger ones, according to acting museum director Regina Asborno Shepherd.
Its modern look makes it ideal for shoots, since it resembles trains still in service but is easier to work in than an active station. “We acquired it about a decade ago for training and filming, but it’s become a spot where kids love to explore freely — something you can’t do during a real subway ride,” she said.
In an Aug. 12 conversation with Zane Lowe on Apple Music Radio, Roan revealed the song is actually inspired by Los Angeles, but she chose New York’s subway system because it feels “so much more romantic.”
That romanticism of the subway system is captured in the fantasy-style video with visuals of Roan chasing a green-haired woman through the city and transit network, encapsulating the rush of nerves and excitement when running into an ex.
To mark the release of The Subway, the museum ran a weekend ticket special, offering a discount code as a playful nod to Roan’s video. Shepherd said the promotion brought in some new faces, though she wouldn’t describe the turnout as a dramatic spike.
Social media buzz around the shoot, however, nudged some visitors who had long planned a visit to finally make the trip, she said. She added that she hopes the stars’ use of the museum continues to attract and intrigue more visitors to learn more about the city’s storied transit history. In 2024, the New York Transit Museum welcomed more than 700,000 people to its locations, programs, and events.
Prior to Roan’s shoot, the R44 car and its orange bucket seats were most recently used in fellow popstar Olivia Rodrigo’s commercial for Sony’s LinkBuds Fit earbuds. It’s the latest chapter in nearly five decades of the museum’s work with the film and television industry.
That tradition stretches back even before the museum’s 1976 opening, when Donald Harold, a former MTA spokesperson and widely acknowledged founder of the Transit Museum, began organizing shoots with the fleet.
“He proved there was an earned revenue value to this collection — not only for the museum, but for the film industry,” Shepherd said. Today, filming remains a significant revenue stream for the nonprofit institution.
The fleet has since appeared in everything from gritty crime thrillers like The French Connection (1971) and The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) to prestige dramas like Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ Bridge of Spies (2015), which featured the museum’s R11 car with its distinctive blue interior. Large-scale musicals such as In the Heights and West Side Story used the museum’s subway cars both in-house and on the system.
Productions including Motherless Brooklyn, Boardwalk Empire, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, AJR’s “Weak” video, Gregory Porter’s NPR Tiny Desk performance, and Moschino’s Fall 2020 runway show have also been filmed there.
“If you’re looking to do something big, like a train pulling in and pulling off, that happens outside. For something like Chappell Roan’s video, you can do everything in one car, with special effects added later,” said Sheppard.
Other parts of the museum — stairwells, entranceways, even back hallways — are also frequently filmed. “We’re a real subway station, so those areas bring that authentic ambience,” Shepherd added.
But filming comes with limits. “Safety is always the top priority, and the film crews in New York are amazing about working within restrictions,” she noted. “You can’t do everything you’d like inside the cars, so they get creative with lighting, timing, green screen, and camera angles. It’s really an artistry, and I’m always impressed by what they pull off.”
Filming typically happens after hours or on closed days, though larger shoots, such as when vintage cars are put into active service, are coordinated with the MTA’s film unit.
The museum receives far more requests than it accepts each year, generally taking on about a dozen. “We try to balance revenue with our mission to preserve and share New York’s transit history,” Shepherd said.
This February, Roan earned her first GRAMMY, taking home the award for Best New Artist, a milestone that has cemented her as one of pop’s breakout stars. She returns to New York next month for four sold-out shows at Forest Hills Stadium as part of her exclusive three-city-only tour this fall.
