It’s History

In 1961, a 23-year-old McGill student proposed Habitat 67: a vertical village of interlocking concrete boxes. Commissioned by the Canadian government for the 1967 World’s Fair, the project evolved from a student thesis into a construction experiment and heavy engineering laboratory. This episode explores its history—how a design meant to democratize working-class housing became a structural challenge and an accidental enclave for the wealthy.

#architecture #history #urbanplanning
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Inside Joliet’s abandoned army arsenal
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The Dangerous Military History of California's Mare Island
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I never knew the navy flew a mid-air hangar
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Before the Willis Tower, Chicago had a different architectural titan. Built in 1905, the original Sears Tower was the centerpiece of the Homan Square mega-complex — then the largest commercial complex on Earth. This episode explores the forgotten history of the original Sears Tower and Homan Square: how Richard Warren Sears built an industrial empire from small-town rail depots; the logistical engineering behind the first "same-day shipping" system; and why the retail giant eventually collapsed into a record‑breaking abandoned ghost town. Henry Ford famously visited to study its mass-production methods.

#sears #chicago #history
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