Before the Davis Island Lock & Dam were built, the flow of the Ohio River slowed to little more than a trickle during dry periods. For several months each year, the unreliable flow stranded Pittsburgh's steamboats, towboats, and barges.
The Davis Island Lock & Chanoine Dam experimental project was the first lock and dam ever constructed on the Ohio River. Its achievements also included the first rolling lock gates, the largest movable dam built in the 19th century, and the widest chamber in world history.
1880-1889
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Image Credit:
Public Domain (National Park Service)
Image Caption:
Davis Island Lock and Dam
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1885
1985
Winding over 64 miles through the majestic San Juan mountains, the narrow-gauge railway known today as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was built as a branch of the extensive Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that ran through western Colorado and most of Utah. It originally served the large number of settlers flocking to the gold and silver mines of the region.
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Larry Lamsa (CC BY 2.0)
Image Caption:
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway
Era_date_from:
1880
1976
On May 24, 1883, with schools and businesses closed for the occasion, New York celebrated the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Also known as the Great East River Bridge, it was built over 14 years in the face of enormous difficulties. Deaths, fire in the Brooklyn caisson, and a scandal over inferior materials all added to the turmoil. The bridge is one of the most well-recognized symbols of American engineering, and remains the unofficial Eighth Wonder of the World.
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Sarah Ackerman (CC BY 2.0)
Image Caption:
The Brooklyn Bridge earned its title of (unofficial) Eight Wonder of the World through its incredible size and beauty
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1883
1972
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Fall 1986 | Volume 2, Issue 2
In the spring of 1887, the emperor himself came out to the Steinfeld firing range a few kilometers from Vienna to watch the Austrian Army trials for rapid-firing weapons. Franz Joseph seemed particularly impressed by the performance of the Nordenfeldt model, a gleaming five-barreled rifle…
