It’s History

It’s History

By Ryan SocashHistory
Download on the App Store

It’s History episodes

  • When New York's Most Dangerous Waterway was Bridged (The History of Hell Gate Bridge)

    The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge[2] or the East River Arch Bridge, is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track across the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan.

    The arch across the Hell Gate is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate railroad viaduct. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four 300-foot (91.4 m) spans crosses the Little Hell Gate, a former strait that is now filled in, and a 350-foot (106.7 m) fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kill, a strait now narrowed by fill. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than 17,000 feet (3.2 mi; 5.2 km) long.[4] The designs of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales, Australia, were derived from the Hell Gate Bridge.[5]

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
  • What Remains of New York's 1964 World's Fair?

    The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or attractions at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.[1][2][3] The immense fair covered 646 acres (2.61 km2) on half the park, with numerous pools or fountains, and an amusement park with rides near the lake. However, the fair did not receive official support or approval from the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE).

    Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding", dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe". American companies dominated the exposition as exhibitors. The theme was symbolized by a 12-story-high, stainless-steel model of the Earth called the Unisphere, built on the foundation of the Perisphere from the 1939 World's Fair.[4] The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22 - October 18, 1964, and April 21 - October 17, 1965. Admission price for adults (13 and older) was $2.00 in 1964 (equivalent to $17.47 in 2021 after calculating for inflation). Admission in 1965 increased to $2.50 (equivalent to $21.5 in 2021 after calculating for inflation). In both years, children (2-12) admission cost $1.00 (equivalent to $8.74 in 2021 after calculating for inflation).[5]
    The fair is noted as a showcase of mid-twentieth-century American culture and technology. The nascent Space Age, with its vista of promise, was well represented. More than 51 million people attended the fair, though fewer than the hoped-for 70 million. It remains a touchstone for many American Baby Boomers who visited the optimistic exposition as children, before the turbulent years of the Vietnam War and many to be forthcoming cultural changes.
    In many ways the fair symbolized a grand consumer show, covering many products then-produced in America for transportation, living, and consumer electronic needs in a way that would never be repeated at future world's fairs in North America. American manufacturers of pens, chemicals, computers, and automobiles had a major presence.[2][1] This fair gave many attendees their first interaction with computer equipment. Corporations demonstrated the use of mainframe computers, computer terminals with keyboards and CRT displays, teletype machines, punch cards, and telephone modems in an era when computer equipment was kept in back offices away from the public, decades before the Internet and home computers were at everyone's disposal.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    15 min
  • Abandoned Liberty Ships Explained (The Rise and Fall of the Liberty Ship)

    In this video, I'll go through the history of the Liberty Ship. You'll learn about how the United States government commissioned shipbuilders to construct a mass-produced cargo ship in 1941 that would help with shipping and logistics during WWII. You'll also learn about some of the major events in Liberty Ship history, what other types of ships were developed alongside it, and how it eventually played an important role.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    19 min
  • New Jersey's Most Beautiful Road ❤️ Exit Zero to New York | The Garden State Parkway Explained

    Origins of the Parkway can be traced back to 1946 and '47 when construction began on the road designed to connect the bustling metropolis of North Jersey with the much more relaxing lifestyle along the Jersey Shore down to Cape May. Originally named the Route 4 Parkway or Route 444 because it was designed to bypass State Route 4, which ran up and down the shore, the first 11 miles of the Parkway, between mile markers 129 and 140, opened in 1950. From then on, the highway continued to grow and is arguably responsible for much of the development that we see today that's up and down the coastline of New Jersey. Today we will discuss The Garden State Parkway. I'm your host Ryan Socash, and you're watching "it's history."

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    22 min
  • How Alcatraz Military Fort became America's Worst Prison

    Alcatraz is most known for housing incredibly dangerous convicts, as well as its history of prison break attempts. But did you know that there is a largely undisturbed system of tunnels just beneath the surface? Today on It's History, we will discover their story.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    16 min
  • Why Assault Gliders were a Terrible Idea (feat. @WorldWarTwo)

    The British-made Horsa gliders are by far one of the most notable gliders used in World War II; being key parts of the storming of Normandy and Operation Tonga. However, pilots experienced many different dangers well before they even entered enemy territory—today on It's History, we will discover them.

    Special thanks to @TimeGhost and the @WorldWarTwo channel for inviting me to be a part of their D-Day Special. Look out for it next year!

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    14 min
  • Chicago's South Side Nightmare - The Rise and Fall of Pullman's Utopia

    The neighborhood we know today as Pullman was the first industrial planned community in the U.S., explicitly built for the Pullman Palace Car Company employees. George Pullman set out to create a utopia society in Chicago. He wanted the community to attract and retain the most talented workers available and hope to do so by providing such a high standard of living that workers would be happy, productive, and less likely to strike. Pullman is one of Chicago's 77 defined community areas and is a neighborhood located on the city's South side, Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop. Situated adjacent to Lake Calumet, the Pullman district has many historic and architecturally significant buildings.. some of which have seen better times. So join me, as we discover the Rise and Fall of Chicago's Pullman District. Named after George Pullman, the company that built it and owned it for most of its existence, the Pullman district was a planned industrial community for workers. It was the birthplace of the Pullman car, which transformed American travel.

    The district contained the world's largest office building at one time.
    But in 1893, when workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, Pullman officials turned out the lights at night while scabs brought in from outside broke the strike.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    22 min
  • The ABANDONED Train Cemetery of Bolivia Explained

    A graveyard of steam trains, abandoned against the stark backdrop of the salt flats. Their cars sit scattered about like a set of forgotten children's toys in the Bolivian desert, all left to quietly rust away. This is a real place, and these trains sit abandoned, yet not forgotten—they stand today as remnants of a time long past, carrying precious materials out to the Pacific Ports. So what could have led to this massive graveyard of trains? Well, it's a complicated story.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    12 min
  • Why the Monument to Communism in the Sky was ABANDONED

    Behind every majestic monument is a story or cause sought to be immortalized. But once their catalysts are forgotten, the once revered structures fall into ruin. Such is the fate of many Soviet Era buildings like the fascinating Buzludzha Monument, which sits on the peak it was named after in central Bulgaria. Known as "Bulgaria's UFO," the Buzludzha Monument hides in the Balkans as the former Bulgarian Communist Party Headquarters and has become one of the most unusual spots in the country. Today we will discuss this remarkable monument. I'm your host Ryan Socash, and you're watching it's history.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    14 min

About It’s History

From the publisher's feed

IT’S HISTORY is a ride through history – join us in discovering the world’s most important eras, the minds that changed everything, and the most important inventions of our time through weekly tales of Urban Decay.