IT’S HISTORY

The Huber Breaker was a significant coal-processing plant constructed in 1939, capable of crushing 7,000 tons of anthracite coal daily. It provided a last hope for Pennsylvania’s coal industry and symbolizes both American industrial power and the human costs associated with it. This episode explores the story of the Huber Breaker—from its rise as a technological marvel to decades of harsh labor an...

As a building with a history as odd as it is tragic, the Cliff House is one of San Francisco’s most iconic historical sites. This video uncovers its history, including one of its strangest and most dangerous accidents. The Cliff House is a neo-classical style building overlooking the Sutro Baths ruins and Seal Rocks, situated within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since 1863, it has prim...

In this episode, we explore the unique story of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, a town originally named Hot Springs. Once a popular desert retreat for presidents and movie stars, the town's fortunes waned by the 1940s. Its unexpected revival came when a national game show led to its renaming, transforming it into a memorable piece of Americana. Join us as we uncover how this town risked its ide...

Hidden beneath the streets of Fort Worth, Texas, lies the story of America’s only privately-owned subway, a transit system built in 1963 by Leonard’s Department Store. This free underground shuttle transported thousands of shoppers from a 5,000-car riverfront parking lot directly into the store’s basement. This video uncovers how Marvin and Obadiah Leonard transformed a bold idea into a successful...

When you hear “Rat Island,” you might think of something grim, but the truth is far more fascinating. Tucked between City Island and Hart Island in the Bronx, this rocky outcrop has witnessed some of the strangest chapters in New York City history, from Revolutionary War espionage to yellow fever quarantines. It has served as a hideout for spies, a prison for the sick, and a retreat for artists an...

Beneath the stage of Radio City Music Hall lies the Roxy Suite, an opulent apartment built for showman Samuel Lionel “Roxy” Rothafel. With gold-leaf ceilings, velvet drapery, and perfect acoustics, it once hosted legends like Alfred Hitchcock, Judy Garland, and Walt Disney. After Roxy's sudden death in 1936, the apartment was sealed off and forgotten for decades. This episode uncovers the hidden s...

Since 1793, the U.S. Capitol has been a symbol of power, unity, and divine destiny. This episode explores how the Capitol became America's greatest piece of architectural propaganda, shaped by events such as fires, wars, expansions, and its survival through time. #ItsHistory #USCapitol #WashingtonDC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beneath Toronto’s bustling streets lies a hidden world of over 3,400 miles of tunnels, storm drains, and pumping stations that carry water where rivers once flowed. This episode uncovers how Toronto transformed its natural creeks and valleys into one of the largest underground sewer networks in North America. Explore lost waterways like Garrison and Taddle Creek and learn about the engineering meg...

Beneath the quiet town of Wieliczka, Poland, lies the extraordinary Wieliczka Salt Mine, stretching over 180 miles. This remarkable underground site features chapels carved entirely from salt, a vast cathedral, and an underground lake that has fascinated visitors for centuries. Recent discoveries of sealed-off shafts, hidden monuments, and forgotten sculptures reveal remnants of a working mine tha...

Hidden behind an iron fence in Eureka, California, the Carson Mansion is a Victorian house built between 1884 and 1886 by lumber baron William Carson. Known as the second most photographed private residence in America, the mansion cost millions to build and employed over a hundred craftsmen. It was constructed to reflect the grandeur of the redwood empire Carson created, attracting crowds since it...

A quarter mile east of Navy Pier, the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse has been guiding ships into one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes since 1893. It features a gold-medal Le Paute lens from Paris and has housed keepers living in near-total isolation. Since its automation in 1979, the lighthouse has been abandoned, quietly rusting with no agreement on who should restore it. The Le Paute lens, one...

In the wake of the California Gold Rush in 1848, San Francisco faced an influx of vessels, many of which were abandoned by their crews. With no one to sail them home, these ships were left to deteriorate in Yerba Buena Cove. To manage the rapid growth, San Francisco made the drastic decision to sink these ships and build over them, creating a unique urban landscape. Today, it's estimated that betw...

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 evolutio...

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 C...

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 industria...

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 o...

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 ce...

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...

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 Riv...

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...

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 an...

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...

In this video, we take you inside Cook County Jail, known as the most dangerous jail complex in Chicago. This facility has a notorious reputation for violence, overcrowding, and inhumane conditions. Through exclusive interviews with former inmates, guards, and criminal justice experts, we explore the harsh realities of life inside this troubled jail. Issues such as rampant gang activity, drug trad...

Join us as we explore the history of rest stops in the Chicagoland region, including Chicago's evolution as a transportation hub. This video covers the rest stops on the Erie Canal, the Galena and Chicago Union Railway, and the Illinois and Michigan Canals, as well as the development of rest stops along the Chicago L and the rise of Chicago's highways. We investigate various rest stops along the I...

Join host Ryan Socash as he explores the hidden and forgotten tunnels beneath New York City, delving into their intriguing histories and what remains today. Chapters: 00:00 - History of the Cobble Hill / Atlantic Avenue tunnel 03:35 - The discovery of the lost Cobble Hill tunnel 04:33 - Manhattan's lost mail tunnel 07:23 - Brooklyn's abandoned pool tunnels 09:31 - Columbia University Tunnels 15:24...