The Woolworth Building construction in 1918, it was the tallest building in the world at that time. Wikipedia describes the building's beginings: The Woolworth Building was constructed in neo-Gothic style by architect Cass Gilbert, who was commissioned by Frank Woolworth in 1910 to design the tallest building in the world[7] as the Woolworth Company's new […]
Pictures: The Building of NYC’s Woolworth Building. The Tallest in the World in 1913
December 11, 2013 by
Boston’s Granary Burying Grounds: The Final Resting Place of Hancock, Revere and… Mother Goose?
October 11, 2013 by
Wikipedia outlines a bit of the history of the grounds: The Burying Ground was the third cemetery established in the city of Boston and dates to the year 1660. The need for the site arose because the land set aside for the city's first cemetery, King's Chapel Burying Ground located a block east was insufficient […]
How Did They Become Known as the Red Sox?
April 21, 2013 by
Mental Floss explains how each Major League Baseball team got there name. Here's the Red Sox story: The team that became known as the Red Sox began play "“ wearing dark blue socks, no less "“ as a charter member of the American League in 1901. With no official nickname, the team was referred to […]
How Much did Paul Revere Charge for His Infamous Midnight Ride? Here’s The Bill He Submitted
April 10, 2013 by
Paul Revere made his historic ride to warn the countryside that the British Regulars were coming on April 18, 1775. Revere had a big family (8 kids) and was an astute businessman who had an engraving business, was a silversmith, a printer, and had several other enterprises. So when he had to take time off […]
The “Black Blizzards” of the 1930’s Dust Bowl
November 28, 2012 by
A Texas dust storm in 1935 I was watching Ken Burns' PBS special "The Dust Bowl" and saw some pictures of these amazing storms rolling acorss the plains. The documentary was a bit dry, but full of interesting, and scary, stories about who the Dust Bowl came to be and how devastating it was. […]
In 1897 Boston Built America’s First Subway to Help with Congestion and… Blizzards
October 15, 2012 by
Construction at Park St. Click for larger image. (from the BPL) On September 1, 1897 Boston opened for business the first Subway in the United States. It was modeled after several European cities (including London which had launched their own 34 years earlier) and was followed a few years later with a subway in New York […]
Pictures From The Beaches of Normandy: June 6, 1944, D-Day
June 6, 2012 by
D-Day is the largest military operation in the history of the world. Here' some details from the D-Day Museum: On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops […]
The Great Boston Fire of 1872: How a Horse Flu, Drunkards, and Bad Roofs Led to Disaster
April 5, 2012 by
One year after the Great Chicago fire, the Great Boston Fire in 1872 burnt over 700 buildings and 65 acres of downtown Boston to the ground. Here's some background on the blaze and some interesting points on how the city was not prepared. How Did It Start? MassMoments has a great summary of how the […]
The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 – A 2,300,000 Gallon Tidal Wave
March 22, 2012 by
This is one of those stories that seems unreal, but it is true. There was actually a flood of molasses that swept through the streets at 35 MPH. Here's the details from Wikipedia: Near Keany Square,[4] at 529 Commercial Street, a huge molasses tank 50 ft (15 m) tall, 90 ft (27 m) in diameter […]
The Origins of Day Light Savings Time – It Was Ben Franklin
March 10, 2012 by
National Geographic tells the story: Ben Franklin—of "early to bed and early to rise" fame—was apparently the first person to suggest the concept of daylight savings, according to computer scientist David Prerau, author of the book Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. While serving as U.S. ambassador to […]