A Great Big City — New York City News, History, and Events

61: America's First Roller Coaster and the Case of the Hollow Nickel

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  • 123 years ago on June 15, 1897 — A fire sweeps through Ellis Island's wood buildings

  • 136 years ago on June 16, 1884 — America's first roller coaster opens in Coney Island

  • 72 years ago on June 16, 1948 — Australian adventurer Ben Carlin and his wife Elinore launch their amphibious jeep into New York Bay in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe

  • 67 years ago on June 22, 1953 — The Hollow Nickel Case

  • 45 years ago on June 24, 1975 — Eastern Air Flight 66 crashes on approach at JFK Airport, killing 113 people

  • 101 years ago on June 26, 1919 — The first issue of the Illustrated Daily News is published, which would become the modern-day New York Daily News

  • Manhattanhenge Photography Tips and Viewing Locations

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    Park of the day
    • Michel Triangle — Clay Av bet. E 171 St and Claremont Pkwy, the Bronx — Michel Triangle is bounded by Clay Avenue, Webster Avenue, and East 165th Street. The road that is now Clay Avenue, between 164th and 167th Streets, was part of the old General Staats Morris' racetrack that had been laid out in 1750 and survived through the mid-1800s.
      • Did you know?

      Here's something you may not have known about New York:

      • The largest class of Staten Island Ferry can carry 6,000 passengers
        • Weather

        The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

        Record High: 98°F on June 19, 1994
        Record Low: 48°F on June 18, 1950

        Weather for the week ahead:

        Possible light rain on Sunday and Tuesday.

        • AGBC Weather
        • Weather.gov forecast

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          Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Manhattanhenge music: Anonymous420

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          A Great Big City — New York City News, History, and EventsBy A Great Big City
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