East German officials opened the Berlin Wall on November 9,
1989, allowing travel from East to West Berlin. The following
day, celebrating Germans began to tear the wall down.
One of the ugliest and most infamous symbols of the Cold War
was soon reduced to rubble that was quickly snatched up by
souvenir hunters.
Scene on the Erie Canal, 1842; wash drawing.
The canal was a major achievement that improved the nation’s transportation infrastructure and provided great economic
benefit for much of the country.
The Erie Canal opened, connecting the Great Lakes with the
Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. Governor DeWitt Clinton
of New York, the driving force behind the project, led the
opening ceremonies and rode the canal boat Seneca Chief
from Buffalo to New York City.
Work began on the waterway in 1817. Teams of oxen plowed
the ground, but for the most part the work was done by
immigrants, among them Irish diggers who had to rely on
primitive tools. They were paid $10 a month, and barrels of
whisky were placed along the canal route as encouragement.
Erie Canal Opening with Governor Clinton (1769-1828).
CAMILLE BOHANNON
The Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the San Francisco
Bay and connects the city to its northern suburbs, is one
of the world’s most famous structures. Its construction
78 years ago over a deep, treacherous channel was a
marvel of modern engineering.
In this photo, pedestrians walk across the bridge on May
27, 1937 — one day before it opened to vehicular traffic.
On April 29, 2004, the World War II Memorial opened in
Washington, D.C. to thousands of visitors, providing
overdue recognition for the 16 million U.S. men and
women who served in the war. The memorial is located
on 7.4 acres on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at
the National Mall between the Washington Monument
and the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol dome is seen to
the east, and Arlington Cemetery is just across the
Potomac River to the west.
On April 7, 1949, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South
Pacific opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New
York City. The romantic musical about World War II, which
touches on controversial racial themes, goes on to run for
almost five years, becoming one of the most popular musicals
of the 1950s.
The show won 10 Tony Awards, and six decades later, its
Lincoln Center revival would earn another seven, making
it the most Tony Award-winning show in New York theater
history.
