Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 14, 1874 Operations began for a lighthouse in a section of the Hudson River within New York’s southeastern region. This navigational aid, which was constructed to help guide vessels safely around a treacherous part of the river known as the Middle Ground Flats, is specifically located between the cities of Hudson and Athens. As... Continue Reading →
November 13, 2017 A newly completed train station in the San Francisco Bay Area’s city of Fairfield was opened. This station provides access for residents of both Fairfield and the neighboring city of Vacaville to Amtrak California’s Capitol Corridor rail line. The facility -- originally called Fairfield-Vacaville station -- is also a transfer hub for... Continue Reading →
November 12, 2008 Operations fully began for a state-of-the-art terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. (This airport, which dates back to 1931, was originally known as Indianapolis Municipal Airport.) The new terminal was named after H. Weir Cook, one of the Hoosier State’s most prominent miliary heroes and aviation trailblazers. Cook had been born in 1892... Continue Reading →
November 11, 1914 A meeting that would have a big and far-reaching impact on transportation throughout the United States occurred during the Fourth American Road Congress, which had commenced a couple of days earlier in Atlanta. As Motor Age magazine confirmed, Georgia’s capital city during that week was “a vortex of good roads enthusiasm.” There... Continue Reading →
November 6, 2015 The Lafitte Greenway, a trail for bicycles and pedestrians, was dedicated in New Orleans. This 2.6-mile (4.2-kilometer) trail courses through the Big Easy’s neighborhoods of Tremé, Lafitte, and Mid-City. The grand opening of the Lafitte Greenway took place on a Friday morning. Susan Guidry, a city councilwoman, used her remarks to acknowledge... Continue Reading →
November 5, 1930 In New Jersey, a dedication ceremony was held for a bridge spanning the Hackensack River and connecting Jersey City with the town of Kearny. These Wednesday festivities featured H. Otto Wittpenn, a member of the New Jersey State Highway Commission (a predecessor to the present-day New Jersey Department of Transportation), snipping a... Continue Reading →
October 28, 2017 About two years after it had been opened to the public, the Lyman Bridge between New Hampshire and Vermont was officially dedicated in a Saturday morning ceremony. This beam bridge crosses the Connecticut River and serves as a link between the community of West Lebanon within the city of Lebanon in New... Continue Reading →
October 24, 1856 In the northern part of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region, Mark Petty arrived at Rock Harbor at Isle Royale to serve as the first keeper of a newly completed lighthouse there. He was accompanied by his brother Michael, who would serve as Rock Harbor Lighthouse’s first assistant keeper. This lighthouse... Continue Reading →
October 22, 1958 On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, a dedication ceremony was held for a pedestrian bridge crossing the Delaware River and connecting the borough of Portland, Pennsylvania, with the community of Columbia in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. This new structure replaced a covered bridge that had been constructed in 1869 and was destroyed by... Continue Reading →
October 21, 1856 The steamship USS Arctic, the first of five U.S. Navy vessels named after the polar region in the northernmost section of Earth, was decommissioned in New York City. This original version of Arctic had been built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioned only the year before. On June 4, 1855, Arctic... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 