Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 21, 2022 On Norway’s west coast, the second line of a light rail system in the city and municipality of Bergen first went into service. This took place three days after the inaugural ceremony for this new route was held. The second line encompasses 5.6 miles (nine kilometers) between Kaigaten in Bergen’s borough of... Continue Reading →
November 20, 1854 One of the first bridges to be built in the Italian city of Venice was opened to the public. This steel bridge for pedestrians spanned the Grand Canal, which is the main canal crossing Venice’s historic center. While there had been discussions about constructing a bridge in this vicinity as far... Continue Reading →
November 19, 2022 Yerba Buena/Moscone station in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood was officially opened. This underground light rail station, which is a link in the T Third Street line of the San Francisco Municipal Railway’s Muni Metro system, owes its name to both Yerba Buena/Moscone Gardens and Moscone Convention Center in that... Continue Reading →
November 14, 1874 Operations began for a lighthouse in a section of the Hudson River within New York’s southeastern region. This navigational aid, which was constructed to help guide vessels safely around a treacherous part of the river known as the Middle Ground Flats, is specifically located between the cities of Hudson and Athens. As... Continue Reading →
November 13, 2017 A newly completed train station in the San Francisco Bay Area’s city of Fairfield was opened. This station provides access for residents of both Fairfield and the neighboring city of Vacaville to Amtrak California’s Capitol Corridor rail line. The facility -- originally called Fairfield-Vacaville station -- is also a transfer hub for... Continue Reading →
November 12, 2008 Operations fully began for a state-of-the-art terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. (This airport, which dates back to 1931, was originally known as Indianapolis Municipal Airport.) The new terminal was named after H. Weir Cook, one of the Hoosier State’s most prominent miliary heroes and aviation trailblazers. Cook had been born in 1892... Continue Reading →
A newly built railway station in central Portugal’s village (and present-day municipality) of Abrantes first went into service. Abrantes Station was opened by the now-defunct company originally known as Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways), which had been established in 1860 and would serve for many years as the country’s... Continue Reading →
November 5, 1930 In New Jersey, a dedication ceremony was held for a bridge spanning the Hackensack River and connecting Jersey City with the town of Kearny. These Wednesday festivities featured H. Otto Wittpenn, a member of the New Jersey State Highway Commission (a predecessor to the present-day New Jersey Department of Transportation), snipping a... Continue Reading →
November 4, 1846 A railway station in the village and community of Ruabon in Wrexham County Borough in Wales was inaugurated. This structure -- the original version of Ruabon railway station -- was built in the Italianate style. It was designed by English architect and surveyor Thomas Mainwaring Penson (1818-1864). In 1860, this station was... Continue Reading →
October 31, 2020 A newly completed international airport in Germany’s state of Brandenburg was opened for commercial operations. This airport, which is just south of the country’s capital of Berlin, was named after Willy Brandt (1913-1992). Brandt, who had been a staunch opponent of the Nazi regime, served as governing mayor of West Berlin from... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 