It’s History

Dating back over 150 years, the "L" train lines have captivated Chicago, serving numerous lines throughout the 20th century. This video explores the history of Chicago's public transportation systems, including:

- The Omnibus, intercity stagecoach, steam train, and cable cars.

- The transport system during the Great Chicago Fire.

- The introduction of electric streetcars to Chicago.

- The evolution of elevated train systems, including the Southside rapid transit line, the Lake Street elevated railway, and the MET West L.

- The history and consolidation of the Chicago Loop and CTA.

- The decline and lost lines of the Chicago "L."

#ChicagoL #PublicTransport #UrbanHistory

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For 57 years, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was the most powerful radio telescope ever built. It was instrumental in discovering the first planets outside our solar system, providing indirect proof of gravitational waves, and serving as Earth's primary radar defense against asteroid impacts. The facility also became a cultural icon, appearing in films such as James Bond and Carl Sagan's Contact. On December 1, 2020, it collapsed into a jungle ravine in under 15 seconds—a demise resulting from decades of underfunding, deferred maintenance, and a series of structural failures. This video narrates the story of the United States' greatest scientific instrument, its neglect, and ultimate loss before a replacement was ever planned.

#Arecibo #RadioTelescope #ItsHistory

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Just outside Chicago, a mile-long stretch of historic Route 66 is barricaded and crumbling above two massive quarry pits. Once called Joliet Road, this corridor carried twenty thousand drivers a day through the southwestern suburbs, lined with diners, gas stations, and family businesses. Today, it is off-limits to the public.

The story of this segment of America's iconic highway involves industrial ambition and legal battles. Decades of aggressive limestone quarrying by Vulcan Materials eroded the bedrock beneath the road, causing it to become suspended on a crumbling ridge. By 1998, the pavement was buckling and shifting, leading to its permanent closure by the Illinois Department of Transportation. A subsequent $40 million legal settlement led Illinois to opt not to rebuild, resulting in lost businesses and disrupted communities.

#Route66 #ChicagoHistory #ItsHistory

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Off the coast of Long Beach, California, the THUMS Islands serve as both resort-like structures and active oil extraction facilities on artificial land. This video explores their design, which serves to conceal oil platforms from public view, as an example of industrial camouflage. The Wilmington Oil Field beneath Long Beach is one of the largest in the continental United States, having produced over 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the early twentieth century. In the 1960s, engineers developed this creative solution to prevent visible offshore rigs near the California coastline, collaborating with a consortium of oil companies and a public university. The islands feature leisure destinations with towers and artificial waterfalls to disguise the machinery.

#ItsHistory #LosAngelesHistory #OilHistory

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For nearly two decades, a 110-foot hole has remained at one of the most coveted addresses on Chicago's lakefront—the only remnant of what would have been the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the Chicago Spire. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, this 2,000-foot twisting tower was funded with $500 million but was halted by the 2008 financial crisis. This patch of ground has been central to Chicago's ambitions since before the city existed, from the fur-trading post that sparked its founding to the apartment tower that inspired the Burj Khalifa.

This video traces every generation that impacted this site and explores why Chicago, known for its ability to reinvent itself, has left its most prized real estate empty for nearly 20 years.

#ItsHistory #ChicagoHistory #ChicagoSpire

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On a narrow strip of land in New York City's East River, Roosevelt Island features an advanced residential waste system that operates without garbage trucks. Beneath its streets, 20-inch steel tubes transport thousands of tons of waste each year at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour to a central collection facility, making it one of only two such systems in the United States, alongside Walt Disney World.

This video explores the history of Roosevelt Island, which once served as a dumping ground for prisons, asylums, and hospitals. It discusses the development of its unique waste management system in response to a 1960s garbage crisis, a visionary plan for a car-free community, and the innovative thinking of a Swedish hospital engineer, all tied together with decades of underground engineering largely unknown to most New Yorkers.

This is the story of Roosevelt Island's Automated Vacuum Collection system and the island's hidden history beneath it.

#RooseveltIsland #WasteManagement #AutomatedVacuumCollection

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Europe deemed it impossible, and President Thomas Jefferson called it “nothing short of madness,” yet New York persevered and constructed the largest canal in the world: the Erie Canal. This video delves into the canal's history, detailing the engineering challenges, land carving, and the permissions required for construction.

Chapters:

0:00 - The History of the Erie Canal

0:37 - The Roads and Rivers of Early American Infrastructure

6:55 - Senator DeWitt Clinton

10:39 - The Biggest Ditch in the World (The Erie Canal)

14:40 - The Difficulties of Finishing the Erie Canal

17:59 - The Success of the Erie Canal

19:59 - The Erie Canal in Modern-Day

CREDITS

Scriptwriter: Gregory Back

Editor: Rishi Mittal

Host: Ryan Socash

#ErieCanal #AmericanHistory #UrbanDecay

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In 1986, 30 million Americans witnessed Geraldo Rivera opening a vault beneath Chicago's Lexington Hotel, the former home of Al Capone, expecting to find cash and weapons but uncovering only dirt and old bottles. This episode delves into Chicago's historical battle over alcohol, highlighting events from the Lager Beer Riot of 1855 to the underground networks that fueled Prohibition-era crime.

The discussion includes the tunnels connecting venues such as the Green Mill and Aragon Ballroom, as well as urban myths about the city's secret freight tunnels. The truths behind Al Capone's operations illustrate that he didn't rely on hidden railways; rather, he maintained control of the city above ground. However, the hidden depths below remain an intriguing subject for exploration.

#Chicago #AlCapone #Prohibition

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Governors Island is a small island off the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City, with a rich history dating back to the 1600s as a Dutch colonial settlement. It has served various purposes over the centuries, including a military base, a quarantine station, and a dumping ground for trash. In 1996, the island transformed into a public park. This video explores the history of Governors Island and its evolution into a public space.

IT’S HISTORY features weekly tales of American Urban Decay presented by host Ryan Socash.

CREDIT:

Scriptwriter - Brandon Evans,

Editor - Sebastian Ripoll,

Host - Ryan Socash.

#GovernorsIsland #History #UrbanDecay

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Below the sewers and subways of Chicago lie over 60 miles of forgotten 19th and 20th-century train tunnels. Once a vital connection between many of the city’s prominent buildings, this labyrinth has remained abandoned for almost a century.

Facing severe congestion from horse-drawn carts, streetcars, and pedestrians around the turn of the century, Chicago introduced elevated rapid transport, known as “the L,” in 1892 to address these issues. However, the infrastructure further obstructed street space for loading, worsening traffic. The high demand for coal as a power source added to street congestion and pollution.

In 1891, Rudyard Kipling famously remarked that “Chicago’s air is dirt.” With little hope for improvement in air quality, moving ash and congestion underground was considered a solution. Under chief engineer George W. Jackson, the Illinois Telephone and Telegraph Company built 26 miles of tunnel for telegraph and telephone cables, a project that eventually stalled. In 1905, the Illinois Tunnel Company took over and expanded the network to 60 miles. On July 7, 1905, an 11-car train was dispatched from the Erie freight house, marking the beginning of a new era for the tunnels.

#Chicago #UrbanHistory #ChicagoTunnels #History #Coal

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