Riding the subway system was an entirely unlike experience 75 years ago — and not just because the elevator car were n’t air - conditioned . From 1941 to 1976 , commuter rode in the company of esteemed pageant winners have it off " Miss Subways . "
The Miss Subways competition was patronize by theNew York Subways Advertising company . Every few months or so , a new woman was crowned and photographed by the John Robert Powers modeling agency . notice with the dominate winner ’s double would then be plastered on subway cars and buses , along with ashort descriptionto be seen by every public transit passenger in the city .
for qualify for the Miss Subways cap , candidates involve to meettwo canonic demand : They had to live in New York City and regularly utilise the underpass . The more nitty - granular rule condition that a participant also had to be between14 and 30 eld old , and could n’t be a professional model or actress . Still , that did n’t entail they did n’t have A - list charisma . AsPeggy Byrne , one of the 1952 Miss Subways , toldRadioDiaries , " When you looked at Miss Subways , you were looking at a star , no query about it . "
ab initio , John Robert Powers himself picked the winners , but in later years contestants ’ photos were brand in the tube railcar and commuters could vote bypostcard(and later telephone ) for the next success . Once elected , Miss Subways represented the city at various purpose . Inthis 1962 photo , for example , selectee Sally Pishney carry through her duties by accompanying representatives of a Nipponese traffic survey during a tour . Such was the life of a NYC theodolite poster girlfriend .
Despite the more problematical aspects built-in to any beauty competition , Miss Subways could be a force for honorable . In 1948 , Thelma Porter was choose as the first African - American Miss Subways , a whole 36 yr before Vanessa Williams would be crowned the first black Miss America .
Photographer Fiona Gardner ( who , along with journalist Amy Zimmer , accumulate the winner ’ stories in a script calledMeet Miss Subways : New York ’s Beauty Queens 1941 - 76 ) tell theAssociated Pressin 2012 : " It was the first desegregate and ethnically diverse lulu competition in America . I realized I had stumbled on a man of forgotten New York history . "
What Miss Subways did share with Miss America was a sure ingredient of sexism . Theposterfor the Miss Subways of July 1946 , for model , proclaimed that Enid Berkowitz " was plugging for [ a ] B.A. , but would settle for an M.R.S. "
Many take that Bachelor ’s degree and run low even further . The campaign make more than 200 Miss Subways in its outpouring , and the winners went on to accomplish a all-embracing form of renowned career achievements — fromlaw degree to spatial relation in the CIA .
While not all continue far-famed beyond their 15 minutes as Miss Subways , some women did end up in Tinseltown . The very first Miss Subways , Mona Freeman , was come upon and signed by Howard Hughes . She went on to star in movies likeTill We Meet Again , Black Beauty , Angel Face , andJumping Jacks(with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ) . The contest itself also get some screen discourse ( of sorts ): It was immortalized in Leonard Bernstein ’s 1944 Broadway musical , On the Town , which featured a character who was the current Miss Turnstiles .
" Miss Subways is a little - known stone of New York story , " Gardner toldDNA Info . " And the adult female choose are incredibly inspiring and have lived full and successful lives . "
