Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
December 10, 1948 A single-runway airport on Northerly Island, a 91-acre (437-hectare) artificial peninsula located along the section of Lake Michigan that is in Chicago, was officially opened. Construction on this airport had begun in 1946. The public officials taking part in the dedication ceremonies for Northerly Island Airport included Martin H. Kennelly, mayor of... Continue Reading →
December 9, 1903 The American Automobile and Power Company was incorporated in the city of Sanford in southern Maine. The eight officers selected at the time for that company included Boston resident Henry D. Long, who became the president; and Sanford native Ernest M. Goodall, who was appointed to serve as the treasurer. The automobile produced... Continue Reading →
December 8, 1921 The eighth annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) came to an end. (More than a half-century later, AASHO officially renamed itself the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials [AASHTO] to reflect what had become a broader mission encompassing different modes of transportation rather than just... Continue Reading →
December 7, 1941 Without a formal declaration of war or any other explicit warning, the Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Imperial Navy’s surprise strike left in its wake a staggering number of deaths and injuries – both military and... Continue Reading →
December 3, 2012 Starting at 2:00 p.m., a newly completed parkway in southeastern Pennsylvania was formally dedicated. The George A. Penglase Memorial Parkway was created as part of a realignment of U.S. Route 202 (US 202), a highway that encompasses 59 miles (95 kilometers) altogether and courses through the western and northern suburbs of Philadelphia.... Continue Reading →
December 1, 1866 A suspension bridge spanning the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, was opened to the public when people were first allowed to walk across the new structure. The next day’s edition of the Cincinnati-based Commercial Gazette reported, “The new bridge was thronged throughout the day, fully 20,000 having crossed between sunrise... Continue Reading →
November 17, 1913 The Eighth Street Bridge in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was formally opened to traffic. At the time of its debut, this 17-arch structure -- measuring 2,650 feet (810 meters) in length and 138 feet (42 meters) in height -- was the world’s longest and highest concrete bridge. This bridge came into existence because the Lehigh... Continue Reading →
November 16, 1860 The first permanent lighthouse on the western coast of Canada made its debut just off Vancouver Island, which was a separate British colony at the time and not yet integrated with British Columbia as a single government unit. Fisgard Lighthouse, located at the narrow entrance to Esquimalt Harbor on the island’s southern... Continue Reading →
November 15, 1947 Standiford Field airport in Louisville, Kentucky, was opened for commercial flights, replacing Bowman Field as the main airport for the Bluegrass State’s largest city. Bowman Field had been providing plane flights for passengers since 1924. With the introduction of passenger services at Standiford Field, just about all of the commercial airline operations... Continue Reading →
November 11, 1935 U.S. Army Air Corps Captains Albert W. Stevens and Orvil A. Anderson, traveling in the high-altitude helium balloon Explorer II, established a record altitude of 72,395 feet (22,066 meters) for manned balloons. This airborne journey took place in the skies above South Dakota. “Successful Flight into Stratosphere,” read the headline for an... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 