Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 15, 1880 The American Shoal Light, which is located on a submerged reef in the Florida Keys, first went into service. The inaugural lighting of this navigational aid was done that night by William Bates, the newly constructed lighthouse's first keeper. He served in that role until 1889. The American Shoal Light can be found about 15 miles... Continue Reading →
July 8, 1862 In the Australian colony (now state) of New South Wales, a group of 19 men met in the office of merchant William Walker in Sydney to establish a club to promote local boating activities. (Along with being an avid yachtsman, Walker was the head of a prominent shipbuilding firm; in addition, he... Continue Reading →
July 7, 1860 The Swallowtail Lighthouse first went into service on Grand Manan Island, a section of the Bay of Fundy that is part of the present-day Canadian province of New Brunswick. At the time of that lighthouse’s debut, New Brunswick was a British colony; in 1867, it became one of the four original provinces... Continue Reading →
June 28, 2015 An apostrophe-shaped, cantilevered swing bridge built for pedestrians and bicyclists only was officially opened in the port city and unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull (also known simply as Hull) in northeastern England. This bridge spans the local harbor, which connects with the River Humber, and serves as a link between Scale... Continue Reading →
June 21, 1884 In Portugal, an engineer named Ricardo Peyroteu formally proposed the construction of a lighthouse to help safely guide vessels in the country’s southernmost region. Peyroteu submitted this proposal to the General Directorate of Posts, Telegraphs and Lighthouses of the Kingdom of Portugal. (At the time, Portugal was a constitutional monarchy.) Construction on... 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 25, 1884 The San Juan de Salvamento Lighthouse made its debut on Isla de los Estados, a remote island within Argentina’s section of the archipelago Tierra del Fuego. Isla de los Estados is located 18 miles (29 kilometers) off the easternmost point of that archipelago’s main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.... Continue Reading →
In the early part of 1942 – not long after the United States entered World War II on the side of the Allies -- the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company established an emergency shipyard along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, to construct vessels for the global fight against the Axis powers. The Vancouver Shipyard started out... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 