Before subways and other trains, New York City's first form of public transportation was the horse-drawn omnibus.

"They held typically about 12 people, but they could accommodate up to 28 people who would enter via the back and pay their fare," said Wendy Ikemoto, the vice president and chief curator at the New-York Historical Society.

What You Need To Know

  • "Lost New York" is a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society on the Upper West Side
  • The exhibition explores the lost and sometimes forgotten landmarks and sites of New York City
  • "Lost New York" features more than 90 paintings, photographs, objects and lithographs
  • The exhibition will be on display through Sept. 29

A painting of the omnibus is one of the glimpses into the city's past in a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society called "Lost New York."

More than 90 paintings, photos, objects and lithographs make up the exhibit, which looks back on a time when New Yorkers risked illness and dangerous currents to swim in the city's waterways, for example.

"This is a constantly transforming, very dynamic city, and this exhibition 'Lost New York' invites our visitors to dive into the deep and many layers of the past," Ikemoto said.

There are also observations from New Yorkers about places like the Hippodrome Theatre, the New York Crystal Palace and the original Penn Station.

The exhibition was curated by Ikemoto, who says one of the defining features of New York is that the city is constantly changing, but it does cherish its history.

"The past lives on through people's memories of them and also through the artifacts that we are putting on the walls. I mean this is called 'Lost New York' and it is about loss, but it is also about recovery, and it is also about how these lost sites resonate with the present day," Ikemoto said.

"Lost New York" will be on display through Sept. 29.