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

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

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

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

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