IT’S HISTORY

What's on the rooftops of New York City's most famous skyscrapers? From interesting architecture to a bird's-eye view of the city, explore the hidden secrets and stunning vistas of the Big Apple's rooftops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being as big a city as it is, Chicago needs a lot of systems to keep it running. Among the most important is the sewer system, which has disposed of Chicago's waste for over 150 years now. From the initial installation and the pollution of the Chicago River to the newer implements of the past several years, the Chicago Sewer System has a pervasive history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

The Brooklyn docks are an integral part of the borough's history. But with the industrial past of New York City and the rise of container shipping, these piers have been abandoned and left to rot. What happened? In this episode, we take a look at what happened to the piers on Brooklyn's waterfront. We'll talk about how they've been used over the years, why they were abandoned, and what people are...

Once the Magic City of America's Rust Belt, Gary, Indiana is a city of a much different reputation today. From the greatest producer of American Steel and a key arm in the Arsenal of Democracy, it devolved into a murder capital until it ran out of people to kill. Its story is familiar, though, with any luck, it is not over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city was founded in 1871 and quickly became a posh destination for Philadelphia and New York society. Its layout echoed European cities, with large inland lakes, broad avenues leading to the sea, and over 200 hotels. It had saltwater pools and carnival rides, and the Marx Brothers headlined at the Paramount. In the 1950s, the town continued to grow and prosper, but it was still a struggling to...

The City Investing Building had many names in its time, but none of them saved it from destruction. Starting as a project from a prolific designer, it hosted countless businesses as residents before facing demolition, one of the tallest of its time to fall as it did. In recent times, its echoes are silent, and its legacy lies mostly forgotten. Today, however, it comes out of the shadows once more....

From the Telegraph's ashes arises its successor; the Telephone. Starting as a modification to the harmonic telegraph, Alexander Graham Bell's magnum opus changed communication forever. Sparking an entire industry that connected nations worldwide, monopolies rose and fell, government regulations shifted, all while interconnection expanded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

An ever-shrinking collection of the US Navy's most storied ships lies in a bay near San Francisco. This National Defense Reserve Fleet held war heroes, masters of espionage, and behind-the-scenes vessels that the Navy could not function without. Some met a cruel fate in a scrapyard, others found a grandiose museum as their new home, but all were influential in the organization that put them out to...

New York City is the pinnacle example of American development. Being the most populated city in the United States, it requires a tremendous amount of infrastructure - chief Among the most important of these systems is its waterworks which have a long and complex past. Today we discover a fascinating tale of underground piping, aqueducts, forgotten tanks, and the longest tunnel in the world! Learn...

Across the south of New Jersey, there are 1.1 million acres of pine forest. From the northern part of Ocean Country down to Cape May, the Pinelands National Reserve occupied 22% of the state's land area and is the largest body of open space on the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard between Moston and Richmond. Additionally, 45 percent of the region, or around 493,000 acres, are owned by the public. However, a...

The lost St Paul building, Designed by George B. Post, constructed from 1895 to 1898, and named for the St. Paul Chapel across Broadway. This masterpiece once towered over lower Manhattan's Financial District as one of the first—and tallest—skyscrapers in New York City at 26 stories and 315 feet tall. Its Ionic-style colonnades stood out from the other superstructures of its time. But it was also...

As one of the busiest vehicular tunnels in the world and a cousin tunnel to the highly successful Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel sees over 100,000 cars every single day and around 21 million a year. It connects New York to New Jersey and serves as an incredibly strong connection between the two states— today on It's History, we will discover the story of the Lincoln Tunnel. Learn more about yo...

Sprawling beneath the busy streets of New York lays an incredible steam system that provides heat to many of the city's most iconic landmarks— the steam stacks, to many, serving as icons all their own. Today on It's History, we will discover the history of the New York City steam lines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once the tallest building in New York City and the tallest office building in the world, the World Building of New York is no longer present in its skyline. Officially known as the Pulitzer Building, named for the same man as the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism, this building had an extensive history despite being wiped from the map. Tied to both the American Civil War and the Second World War, one c...

Street signs are one of the most common sights in your average city, but the average tourist often does not think of them. But just as the city of Chicago is not average, nor is their street signs. It has shuffled through many designs throughout history before ending with what it has today. And the type it is known for is not in service today but is by no means gone. Learn more about your ad choic...

Outside the Philadelphia International Airport is a shipyard of old and decrepit vessels, but they weren't always that way. Among these ships are some of the United States Navy's most storied vessels, heroes of countless wars, and great storied histories. And while their fates are not as glorious as their pasts, one vessel that once rested here is truly the stuff of legend. Learn more about your a...

Discovering American Heritage Through Tales of Urban Decay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once at the forefront of New York's booming waterfront economy, many of the original docks that lined the bustling shores of New York City have fallen into disrepair. Some remain mere shells of what they once were, but others have been given new life in recent years— in this episode of It's History we will explore the many lost docks of New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

The American Telegraph was one of the first advancements towards the near-instant communication of today. While the telegraph found its origin in Britain, it hit its stride in the United States with Samuel Morse's design, gaining international prestige and even a cable running across the Atlantic Ocean. Today, we're going to delve into the history of it and see just what made the telegraph, and Mo...

Once one of Chicago's most incredible buildings, the Chicago Federal Building is now little but a long-forgotten memory for most of Chicago. Designed by Henry Ives Cobb and with a dome larger than the one on the Capitol Building, it was a marvel of its time—today on It's History, we will discover the secrets of the lost Chicago Federal Building. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

A building with a very rocky history, 2 Columbus Circle was the core of significant controversy in New York City almost 15 years ago. From its privileged beginnings, its changes in ownership, and the furious debate that raged for thirty years, this relatively recent addition to Manhattan's list of remarkable buildings had no trouble making up for its lost time. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Around Chicago's downtown area is a collection of buildings that do not appear to be typical buildings at all. Windowless, doorless, but not at all featureless, these buildings hide many of the machinery that keeps the city moving. With a vivid history in electricity, they eventually became a common sight in metropolitan areas. Today, we discuss the so-called "fake buildings" of Chicago. Learn mor...

As one of the most influential railroads in all of New Jersey, the Central New Jersey Railroad has had an incredible impact on the Garden State's growth throughout the 19th century. It flourished, carrying millions of passengers throughout its lifespan—though it met a tragic end thanks to the rise of automobiles and the widespread fall of railroads all across America. But did you know that not onl...

The Dominicans came to Łęczyca in the seventies of the 13th century. Originally, they lived in wooden buildings. It was not until 1341 when a brick St Dominic's church and a two-story monastery were constructed as adjoining the defensive walls of the town. Not much information about its functioning survived. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the complex was enlarged by adding new wings....

Immersed in a vibrant history, the San Francisco Bay Area hosts one of America's most iconic landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. The culmination of San Francisco and the state of California as a whole's history, and only able to be constructed due to the influx of citizens from the Gold Rush, the Golden Gate Bridge connected two points fortified during the Civil War. Once called unbuildable, the de...