`Miss Subways’ contest to live again at Transit Museum
Often, fixtures of New York life that were once so commonplace that people rarely gave a second thought to them are now remembered only by an ever-decreasing number of older people.
One example of this is the Transit Authority’s “Miss Subways” beauty contest. Contestants’ and winners’ photos and biographies were posted in subway cars along with advertisements. The contest was satirized in the famed 1944 Frank Sinatra-Gene Kelly musical as “Miss Turnstiles” – but nowadays, most people who watch the movie probably don’t get the reference.
Until now, just about the only place you would be reminded of the “Miss Subways” pageant was at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, a Midtown Manhattan restaurant founded by actress and singer Ellen Hart Strum, a former Miss Subways from 1959. To this day, the walls of Ellen’s, which originally was located opposite City Hall, are adorned with Miss Subways posters.