Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 24, 1884Wilson McCarthy, who achieved widespread prominence as a railroad executive, was born in the city of American Fork in what was then the Territory of Utah. McCarthy worked in various settings as a cowboy (boots and western wear became his lifelong standard attire), attorney, judge, and banker before his deep immersion in the... Continue Reading →
July 18, 1931 The Matson Navigation Company ocean liner SS Mariposa was launched at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. (That facility served as part of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s shipbuilding division.) Mariposa was built for service on a Pacific Ocean route between San Francisco, California, and Sydney, Australia. This ship was the largest passenger... Continue Reading →
July 17, 1962 A new aviation record was set when U.S. Air Force (USAF) Major Robert M. White piloted a rocket-powered North American X-15 aircraft to an altitude of 59.6 miles (95.9 kilometers) above Earth. White’s trek up that far into the sky began with a bomber dropping his aircraft over Nevada. By subsequently zooming as... Continue Reading →
July 14, 2008 The first line of the MAX bus rapid transit service in north-central Utah was formally launched. MAX, which is operated by the Utah Transit Authority, was established to provide more expeditious bus transportation in that area of the Beehive State. The MAX service has differed from other local bus operations because of... Continue Reading →
July 13, 1898 The opening of a terminal for ferries traveling across San Francisco Bay was officially opened. The San Francisco Ferry Building was built as a replacement for a wooden structure that had been a ferry depot at that site since 1875. The second and current version of the terminal in that region of... Continue Reading →
July 12, 1916 William Warwick, accompanied by his wife and their young daughter, departed from Seattle in a commercial truck for what would become the first transcontinental journey for that type of motor vehicle in the United States. This pioneering expedition between Seattle and New York City took place under the auspices of the Seattle... Continue Reading →
July 11, 1936 New York City’s Triborough Bridge -- connecting the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx -- was officially opened to traffic. The structure crosses the East and Harlem Rivers as well as the Bronx Kill strait. This bridge is actually a complex encompassing three long-span bridges, a web of viaducts and smaller bridges, and... Continue Reading →
July 6, 1891 In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, a full-rigged sailing ship was launched at the C.R. Burgess Yard in the seaside village of Kingsport. This wooden vessel, named Canada, had been designed by the prolific shipbuilder Ebenezer Cox (1828-1916). At the time of her launch, Canada held the record as the largest... Continue Reading →
July 3, 1828 The North Carolina-based Fayetteville Weekly Observer was one of several newspapers throughout the United States to cite plans for a groundbreaking ceremony on Independence Day for a major canal in the Washington, D.C., region. This new waterway, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, would be built along the Potomac River from Washington... Continue Reading →
June 28, 2019 In the Canadian province of Quebec, a dedication ceremony took place for the Samuel De Champlain Bridge in the Greater Montreal Area. This cable-stayed bridge, crossing the Saint Lawrence River, serves as a link between Nnns’ Island, part of the borough of Verdun in the city of Montreal; and the municipality of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 