"Underneath New York City"

This evening I happened upon a fascinating program on television. It was an episode of the PBS series, "The American Experience", and this one was all about the New York City subway:

"New York City... Just after the Civil War. The fastest growing city in the country. But also a city at a standstill. Frozen in place by monumental traffic jams... holding up travel and business... threatening the city's survival.

In 1868, beneath downtown broadway, a crew of men... working in secrecy... began carving a tunnel in the underground darkness. This was a bold experiment, conceived by one man -- convinced that only a subway could save the city."

This is American history at it's best. Vision and determination... Peserverence against all odds... technology and innovation shaping the American landscape. I've never been to New York, yet, for some reason, the subway intruiges me. Go figure.

And... if the history program wasn't enough, right after, PBS aired an episode from another series exploring the modern-day New York underground. Truely fascinating stuff! For your convenience, I even found a great National Geographic website offering illustrations. Feel free to look around, and be sure to click on the labels for more indepth information.

Enjoy, and happy exploring!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:12 PM  I   I  0 comments