Pneumatic tube mail in New York City

The system was inaugurated on 7 October 1897 and presided over by Senator Chauncey M. Depew, who declared, This is the age of speed.

"[4] The first dispatch was sent by Depew from the General Post Office to the Produce Exchange Post Office and included a bible wrapped in an American flag, a copy of the Constitution, a copy of President William McKinley's inaugural speech and several other papers.

The bible was included in order to reference Job 9:25, "Now my days are swifter than a post" (KJV).

[4] The return delivery contained a bouquet of violets and, as reported the following day in The New York Times, the round trip took less than three minutes, most of which was taken in unloading and reloading the canister at the other end.

[1][4][5] In his autobiography, postal supervisor Howard Wallace Connelly recalled, How it could live after being shot at terrific speed from Station P in the Produce Exchange Building, making several turns before reaching Broadway and Park Row, I cannot conceive, but it did.

The growing volume of mail, limited system capacities, and the advent of the automobile made the tubes "practically obsolete," and actually hindered the efficient operation of the postal service.

[9][10] Breakdowns often required digging up streets to retrieve clogged mail and restore the system to operation.

At least one death was reported when a test run caused a tube to rupture violently, injuring the repair crew who had dug out a section under 4th Avenue to mend a break in the line.

[12] The annual rental payment of $17,000 per mile was considered exorbitant, particularly when compared to the cost of delivery by automobile.