Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 22, 1909 Talk about being multimodal! The firm of Wyckoff, Church & Partridge (WCP), automobile dealers based in New York City, formally became the first corporate entity in the United States to sell planes. As far as automobiles were concerned, WCP had already established itself by that time as an early pioneer in showrooms... Continue Reading →
June 17, 1928 Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was among those departing on a plane from Trepassey Harbor at Newfoundland for what would be a pioneering flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Wilmer Stultz was the pilot of that plane, a Fokker F.VIIb/3m aircraft known as the Friendship, and Lou Gordon was on board as the co-pilot... Continue Reading →
June 15, 2013 The final section of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), a rail trail spanning 150 miles (240 kilometers) between Pittsburgh and the city of Cumberland in western Maryland, was opened to the public. The GAP is heavily used by both bicyclists and hikers, and it connects with the towpath for the Chesapeake and... Continue Reading →
June 13, 1888 Construction on a swing-span railroad bridge spanning the body of water known as the Arthur Kill and linking Staten Island, New York, with mainland New Jersey was completed at 3:00 p.m. At the time, the 800-foot (240-meter)-long Arthur Kill Bridge was the world’s largest drawbridge. It was also the only land connection to Staten... Continue Reading →
June 8, 2016 Fireboat 20, a ship equipped with state-of-the-art firefighting apparatus, was officially commissioned into service at Long Beach, California, as one of the vessels to be used by that city’s fire department. During the Wednesday afternoon commissioning ceremony at the Port of Long Beach Joint Command and Control Center, the vessel was renamed... Continue Reading →
June 3, 2006 A marked canoeing trail that runs through a region between the hamlet of Old Forge in New York and the town of Fort Kent in Maine was officially opened. This trail was developed within the Northern Forest, a combination of hardwood and boreal forests that collectively comprise the largest continuous forest in... Continue Reading →
June 1, 1906 Work was completed on a lighthouse in the southeastern region of the then-Territory of Alaska. This octagonal structure is specifically located on Eldred Rock, an island that is in the Pacific Ocean and adjacent to the inlet known as Lynn Canal. The Eldred Rock Light was the last of 10 lighthouses built... Continue Reading →
May 18, 1908 Stanley Johnson Marx, who would serve as the head of a leading and influential school bus manufacturer on the west coast of the United States, was born in Oakland, California. In 1927, Marx began working for the California-based Gillig Brothers Company as a mechanic. This company traced its origins to a carriage and wagon shop established in... Continue Reading →
May 10, 1876 The Centennial International Exhibition -- held in Philadelphia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in that city -- was opened. Officially called the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, it was the first actual World’s Fair held in the United... Continue Reading →
May 6, 2006 After making its final flight, the Lockheed C-141C Starlifter strategic airlift plane best known as “Hanoi Taxi” touched down at 9:30 a.m. at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in Ohio for a formal retirement ceremony there at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). This plane, which was delivered... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 