History Series: The Pneumatic Tube Network that Connected the NYSE

Long before fiber optics and wireless networks, bursts of compressed air kept Wall Street moving. NYSE curator Dave D’Onofrio goes Inside the ICE House with archivist Anna Melo and urban historian Michelle Young to uncover the Exchange’s little‑known pneumatic tube system—an engineering marvel that powered communication for decades. They trace how these whooshing cylinders carried orders, quotes, and messages through a sprawling underground network that linked traders, clerks, and floors in real time.