Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 28, 1980 In the Canadian province of Quebec, Georges-Vanier station in southwest Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighborhood first went into service. This station was one of three built on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro to be opened on the same day. Georges-Vanier station was named after a boulevard in that part of Montreal.... Continue Reading →
On October 25, 2017, a dedication ceremony was held for a memorial commemorating West Virginia state highway employees who have lost their lives in work zone collisions. The creation of this memorial was spearheaded by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH), the largest agency of the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT). The WVDOH... Continue Reading →
April 24, 1951 In Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, a cantilever bridge crossing the Monongahela River was officially opened at noon. The bridge serves as a connection between the city of McKeesport and borough of Dravosburg. (Both McKeesport and Dravosburg are part of the Greater Pittsburgh area; the Steel City is not only the largest city in... Continue Reading →
April 22, 1833 The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad (E&KRR) was chartered in the then-Territory of Michigan, which became a state in 1837. This railroad ultimately ran from what was at that time Port Lawrence, Michigan (now Toledo, Ohio) near Lake Erie to the village of Adrian, Michigan, on the River Raisin to the northwest. E&KRR was... Continue Reading →
April 21, 1906 The coastal passenger steamship SS Governor Cobb was launched at Roach’s Shipyard in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. This vessel was the first ship built in the United States to be powered by steam turbines. That turbine technology was provided for the Governor Cobb by the New Jersey-based marine engineering firm W. &... Continue Reading →
April 18, 1905 A passenger train crossed a five-span cantilever truss bridge built to carry train traffic across the Mississippi River between the community of Illmo (now part of Scott City) in Missouri and the village of Thebes, Illinois. This train was the first one to cross the Thebes Bridge, thereby (in the words of... Continue Reading →
April 16, 1903 A vessel that was characterized by that day’s edition of the California-based newspaper Stockton Mail as a “mammoth ship” was launched in southeastern Connecticut’s New London County. The Stockton Mail reported, “In the presence of thousands of spectators, including many visitors from New York, Boston and other cities, the steamship Minnesota, built... Continue Reading →
April 15, 1924 The Rand McNally Auto Chum, a highways map guide for car travel throughout the United States, was published. This guide was the first edition of what ultimately became the best-selling Rand McNally Road Atlas. The Auto Chum came out at a time when cars were increasingly embraced and used nationwide, and highways to accommodate... Continue Reading →
April 14, 1960 Aviation pioneer Dr. William Whitney Christmas died at Bellevue Hospital in New York City at the age of 94. He was born on September 1, 1865, in the town of Warrenton, North Carolina. After earning his M.D. from George Washington University in 1905, Christmas practiced medicine for just a few years before devoting... Continue Reading →
April 10, 1951 The Battery Park Underpass, a vehicular tunnel at the southernmost tip of Manhattan in New York City, was officially opened during a noontime ceremony. This underpass is located near the neighborhoods of Battery Park and South Ferry. It serves as a link between Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive (popularly known as... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 