Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 28, 1911 In Canada, a new streetcar system was launched in Regina, Saskatchewan. A brief dedication ceremony took place at ten o’clock on that Friday morning, and then the first four electric streetcars of the system made their way through the capital city of Saskatchewan. Hundreds of people lined up along the streets to watch... Continue Reading →
July 27, 1962 Aviation executive and pioneer James H. “Dutch” Kindelberger died at his home in Los Angeles at age 67. Kindelberger, who was described in an Associated Press story that day as “one of the giants of America’s aerospace industry,” had been born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1895. He acquired the nickname “Dutch”... Continue Reading →
July 24, 1991 Work began on the current Vermilion Lighthouse on the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio. The 34-foot (10.4-meter) structure is specifically located at the Inland Seas Maritime Museum in the city of Vermilion and in the vicinity of where the Vermilion River empties into Lake Erie. This version of the Vermilion Lighthouse... Continue Reading →
July 23, 1890 The Maine-based Kennebec Central Railroad began operations on a 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch in the southeastern part of the state between the community of Randolph and a home for disabled U.S. Army veterans in the town of Chelsea. The company responsible for building this railroad had been incorporated during the fall of the previous... Continue Reading →
July 22, 1997 Nearly six decades after the inauguration of the original Blue Water Bridge between Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario, an additional span for this structure was opened to motor vehicles. The construction of this new span, which is also known as the Second Blue Water Bridge, was a joint project of... Continue Reading →
July 21, 1946 An aviation milestone took place with the first official U.S. assessment of the adaptability of an all-jet aircraft to shipboard operations. For that assessment, U.S. Navy (USN) Lieutenant Commander James J. Davidson piloted a McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom fighter jet as it made a series of successful catapult-free takeoffs from and landings on... Continue Reading →
July 20, 1934 In California, construction began on a new bridge that would cross the Sacramento River and connect the state capital of Sacramento in Sacramento County with the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County. This vertical lift bridge was built to replace the M Street Bridge, which was owned by the Sacramento Northern Railway.... Continue Reading →
July 17, 1879 The earliest public railway to exist in the present-day state of Hawaii began operations on the island of Maui. The first train to run along that narrow-gauge track was pulled along by a locomotive named after Queen Emma, who had been queen consort of what was then the Kingdom of Hawaii. This new... Continue Reading →
July 16, 1927 Defense Highway -- coursing through Maryland from the Washington, D.C., area in Prince George’s County to the state capital of Annapolis in Anne Arundel County -- was formally opened to great fanfare. This route was built between Bladensburg and Annapolis, and followed the trajectory of a narrow, unpaved road that had been in... Continue Reading →
July 15, 1975 In Virginia, the first segment of Interstate 195 (I-195) in the state capital of Richmond was opened. I-195 has also become known as the Beltline Expressway. This 3.5-mile (5.6-kilometer) highway is a spur route of Interstate 95. Within the Interstate Highway System, a spur route is a short highway serving as a... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 