Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 21, 1960 David B. Steinman, a structural engineer who designed a number of notable bridges across the globe, died in New York City. It is not completely clear where he had been born. Several sources indicate that Steinman was born in the town of Chomsk in the present-day Republic of Belarus in 1886 and... Continue Reading →
August 20, 1963 If at first, you don’t succeed . . . Charles Fehn applied for the third time for a patent for a pioneering type of motorcycle that he invented five years earlier. The entrepreneurial Fehn developed a strong familiarity with motorcycles early on in life. Over time, he even began routinely taking motorcycles... Continue Reading →
August 17, 1939 Beverly Rae Kimes, a writer who became known as the First Lady of Automotive History, was born in West Chicago, Illinois. Kimes developed a strong interest in writing early on in life, focusing at the time on the fine arts and the performing arts rather than automobiles. She earned two degrees in... Continue Reading →
August 15, 1892 In Canada, the first electric streetcar to operate in Toronto officially went into service. This streetcar, which was part of the Toronto Railway Company (TRC), ran on Church Street in the city. (Along with being the capital of the province of Ontario, Toronto at that time was second only to Montreal as... Continue Reading →
August 14, 1930 Construction on the lightship now known as Chesapeake was completed by the Charleston Drydock & Machine Company in Charleston, South Carolina. As one of the more modern floating lighthouses built to serve as navigational aids along U.S. coastal waters, Lightship 116 was equipped with state-of-the-art features for lightships during that era. Lightship... Continue Reading →
August 13, 1962 The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge linking the community of Lubec, Maine, and Canada’s Campobello Island – where the 32nd U.S. president maintained a summer retreat – was dedicated. The international bridge, measuring 847 feet (258.2 meters) in length, crosses over the Lubec Narrows at the edge of the Bay of Fundy and... Continue Reading →
August 10, 1893 A huge parade for bicyclists took place in Chicago as part of the 14th annual meeting of the League of American Wheelmen (LAW). The specific venue for the LAW meeting was the World’s Columbian Exposition. (This extravagant international fair was being held in the Windy City to celebrate the 400th anniversary of... Continue Reading →
August 9, 2015 A cable-stayed bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, was first opened to the public. This open house took place more than a month before the bridge was officially dedicated. The new structure was designed by TriMet, the regional transit authority for the Portland metropolitan area, for the MAX Orange Line... Continue Reading →
August 7, 1971 Joseph Washington Frazer, whose meteoric rise in the automobile business took him from repairing and maintaining vehicles to serving in top executive-level positions at several major companies, died at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. He was 79. “Mr. Frazer, who had the build and energy of a fullback, glowed with a... Continue Reading →
July 31, 1910 In Minnesota, Split Rock Lighthouse began operations in a high-risk area on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The new structure’s oil-vapor lamp was first lit on that Sunday evening by keeper Orren “Pete” Young. A one-time sailor, Young served as keeper at the lighthouse until retiring at the mandatory age of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 