It’s History

Towering 398 feet over Niagara Square, Buffalo City Hall is one of the largest Art Deco buildings in America. Behind its mosaic-covered halls and a cosmic stained-glass ceiling that maps the exact night sky over Buffalo in 1931 lie a building full of secrets: a restricted prisoner passage known as the Tunnel of Tears, a passive cooling system that harnesses gales off Lake Erie with almost zero electricity, and a hidden 28th-floor observation deck reachable only by an unmarked stairwell. Built at the height of the Great Depression and finished on time, on budget, and without a single worker death, the building watched Buffalo rise as the electric “City of Light” and then nearly fall apart as industry collapsed and the city went broke. This episode climbs to the secret top floor, walks the Tunnel of Tears, and explores how a city too poor to demolish its own landmark helped preserve one of North America’s finest Art Deco buildings.

#ItsHistory #Buffalo #ArtDeco
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Beneath Midtown Manhattan lies a secret rail siding: Track 61. Built in the 1910s as part of Grand Central’s service yard, it originally hauled coal and ash. When the Waldorf Astoria was built above it in 1931, the track became a private platform connected to the hotel by a freight elevator. Over decades it carried generals, presidents, and celebrities — Franklin D. Roosevelt used it, and Andy Warhol staged a party there in the 1960s. This episode separates myth from fact, traces Track 61’s origins in New York’s golden age of rail, and explores why it remains an enduring urban mystery.

#GrandCentral #WaldorfAstoria #UrbanHistory
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IT’S HISTORY — Weekly tales of American urban decay, hosted by Ryan Socash.

Episode: The Mystery of Meigs Field Airport
This episode examines how Meigs Field came to be, its opening in Chicago, Mayor Daley’s attempts to shut it down and his overnight destruction of the field, and the site’s status today.

Chapters:
0:00 The Mystery of Meigs Field Airport
0:41 How Meigs Field Airport Came To Be
3:20 Chicago Opens Meigs Field Airport
6:21 Mayor Daley Tries To Shut It DOWN
7:55 Daley's OVERNIGHT Destruction of Meigs Field Airport
10:00 Meigs Field Airport Today

Credits:
Editor — Karolina Szwata
Host — Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design — Dave Daddario

Disclaimer: Some media elements in this episode are used under the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law (Title 17, Section 107) for purposes of commentary, criticism, and education.
Notice: Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only — always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error, mispronounced words, or spelling mistakes will be addressed in retractions published in this section.

#MeigsField #Chicago #UrbanDecay #ItsHistory
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Beneath Chicago’s Cloud Gate lies the city’s dramatic transformation. This episode traces Grant Park's evolution from marshland and post–Great Fire landfill to a bustling urban landmark, exploring Daniel Burnham’s 1909 vision and Montgomery Ward’s efforts to keep the lakefront “forever open, clear and free.”

We examine the deck-over that led to Millennium Park, featuring Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain, and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate. Additionally, we uncover the hidden world beneath: Millennium Station, the Pedway, garages, and historic freight tunnels. Discover why Chicago’s front yard is both a monument to beauty and a marvel of buried infrastructure.

#Chicago #GrantPark #MillenniumPark

(00:45) Cloud Gate

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Chapters:
00:00 Unveiling Pearl Harbor: Exploring the Forgotten Stories of Infamy
00:53 Rising Tensions: From Diplomatic Clashes to the Road to Pearl Harbor
03:35 Behind Enemy Lines: The Espionage at Pearl Harbor
09:15 Missed Signals: The Radar Oversight at Pearl Harbor
12:46 Resilience and Recovery: Stories of USS Nevada and USS California at Pearl Harbor

IT’S HISTORY — Weekly tales of American urban decay, hosted by Ryan Socash.

Disclaimer:
Some media elements in this video are used under the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law (Title 17, Section 107) for purposes of commentary, criticism, and education.

Credits:
Scriptwriter — Gregory Back
Editor — Karolina Szwata
Host — Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design — Dave Daddario

Notice:
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes while reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Any factual errors, mispronunciations, or spelling mistakes will be addressed in this section.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices