Highway under the Hudson

Highway under the Hudson
Author: Robert W. Jackson
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2011-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0814745032

Choice's Outstanding Academic Title list for 2013 "There is no comparable book on this tunnel. Highly recommended."—Choice Reviews Every year, more than thirty-three million vehicles traverse the Holland Tunnel, making their way to and from Jersey City and Lower Manhattan. From tourists to commuters, many cross the tunnel's 1.6-mile corridor on a daily basis, and yet few know much about this amazing feat of early 20th-century engineering. How was it built, by whom, and at what cost? These and many other questions are answered in Highway Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland Tunnel, Robert W. Jackson's fascinating story about this seminal structure in the history of urban transportation. Jackson explains the economic forces which led to the need for the tunnel, and details the extraordinary political and social politicking that took place on both sides of the Hudson River to finally enable its construction. He also introduces us to important figures in the tunnel's history, such as New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge, who, more than anyone else, made the dream of a tunnel a reality and George Washington Goethals (builder of the Panama Canal and namesake of the Goethals Bridge), the first chief engineer of the project. Fully illustrated with more than 50 beautiful archival photographs and drawings, Jackson's story of the Holland Tunnel is one of great human drama, with heroes and villains, that illustrates how great things are accomplished, and at what price. Highway Under the Hudson featured in the New York Times Listen to Robert Jackson talk about the book on WAMC Radio

Highway Under the Hudson

Highway Under the Hudson
Author: Robert W. Jackson
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2011-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0814742998

Every year, more than thirty-three million vehicles traverse the Holland Tunnel, making their way from Jersey City and Lower Manhattan. From tourists to commuters, many cross the tunnel's 1.6 mile corridor on a daily basis, and yet few know much about this amazing feat of early 20th-century engineering. How was it built, by whom, and at what cost? These and many other questions are answered in Highway under the Hudson, Robert W. Jackson's story about this seminal structure in the history of urban transportation. In this meticulously researched work, Jackson provides the first complete history of the planning, financing and construction of the Holland Tunnel. Dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it opened in 1927, the Holland Tunnel was the longest vehicular tunnel in the world st the time of its construction. In Highway under the Hudson, Jackson explains the economic forces which led to the need for the tunnel, and details the extraordinary political and social politicking that took place on both sides of the Hudson River to enable its construction. He introduces us to important figures in the tunnel's history, such as New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge, who, more than anyone else, made the dream of a tunnel a reality; George Washington Goethals (builder of the Panama Canal and namesake of the Goethals bridge), the first chief engineer of the project; engineers Ole Singstad, who designed the ventilation system, and Clifford Holland, the chief engineer for whom the tunnel is named; New Jersey Bridge and Tunnel commissioners Thomas Albeus Adams and John F. Boyle, who tried to profit from the tunnel's construction; Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague, who blocked completion of the tunnel until the New York Bridge and Tunnel Commission agreed to pay for street improvements in his city; and the compressed-air workers (called "sandhogs") who risked their lives to build the tunnel. Fully illustrated with more than 50 beautiful photographs and drawings, Jackson's story of the Holland Tunnel is one of great human drama, with heroes and villains, that illustrates how great things are accomplished, and at what price.

Hidden History of the Lower Hudson Valley

Hidden History of the Lower Hudson Valley
Author: Carney Rhinevault
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2012-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1614238227

Today's travelers between New York City and Albany are more familiar with the Thruway than with the old Albany Post Road. But for centuries, this was the main highway between the Big Apple and the capital, and many exciting events occurred along its path in the Lower Hudson Valley. The Dutch Philipse family of Sleepy Hollow engaged in piracy, and tales of such misdeeds from the region inspired Washington Irving to write some of his most beloved stories. Later, prisoners used the road as an escape route from the original Sing Sing prison. During Prohibition, a "beer hose" ran through Yonkers, allegedly placed along the route by beer baron Dutch Schultz. With illustrations by Tatiana Rhinevault, local historian Carney Rhinevault uncovers the stories hidden behind the old mile markers of the Albany Post Road.

The Hudson River Highlands

The Hudson River Highlands
Author: Frances F. Dunwell
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 1991
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780231070430

Discusses the area's folklore and history, its portrayal in art, the role of West Point as a gateway to America, and the creation of Bear Mountain Park.

The Hudson

The Hudson
Author: Tom Lewis
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300119909

Offers a history of the Hudson River, looking at explorers and traders, the arrival of the colonies, how it was transformed, and the landscape.

The Hudson

The Hudson
Author: Stephen P. Stanne
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2021-01-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1978814054

Since 1996, The Hudson has been an essential guide to the full sweep of the great river's natural history and human heritage. This updated third edition includes the latest information about the ongoing fight against pollution, plus vibrant new full-color illustrations showing the plants and wildlife that make this ecosystem so special.

Miracle on the Hudson

Miracle on the Hudson
Author: The Survivors of Flight 1549
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2009-10-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0345520467

The remarkable true story of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s heroic crash landing in the Hudson River, as told by the passengers who owe him their lives. Millions watched the aftermath on television, while others witnessed the event actually happening from the windows of nearby skyscrapers. But only 155 people know firsthand what really happened on U.S. Airways Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009. Now, for the first time, the survivors detail their astounding, terrifying, and inspiring experiences on that freezing winter day in New York City. Written by two esteemed journalists, Miracle on the Hudson is the entire tale from takeoff to bird strike to touchdown to rescue, seen through the eyes and felt in the souls of those on board the fateful flight. Revealing many new and compelling details, Miracle on the Hudson dramatically evokes the explosion and "smell of burning flesh" as both engines were destroyed by geese, the violent landing on the river that felt like a "huge car wreck," the gridlock in the aisles as the plane filled swiftly with freezing water, and the thrill of the passengers' rescue from the wings and from rafts—all of it recalled by the "cross section of America" on board. Jay McDonald, a thirty-nine-year-old software developer, had survived brain-tumor surgery just two years earlier and now faced the unimaginable. Tracey Wolsko, a nervous flier, suddenly became other people's rock: "Just pray. It's going to be all right." Jim Whitaker, a construction executive, reassured a nervous mother of two young children on board, only later admitting, "I was pathologically lying the whole time." As the plane started sinking, Lucille Palmer, eighty-five, told her daughter to save herself: "Just leave me!" Featuring much more than what the media reported—moments of chaos in addition to stoicism and common sense, and the fortuitous mistakes and quick instincts that saved lives that otherwise would have been lost—Miracle on the Hudson is the chronicle of one of the most phenomenal feel-good stories of recent years, one that could have been a nightmare and instead became a stirring narrative of heroism and hope for our times.

Out-Doors at Idlewild; or, The Shaping of a Home on the Banks of the Hudson

Out-Doors at Idlewild; or, The Shaping of a Home on the Banks of the Hudson
Author: Nathaniel Parker Willis
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2021-11-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1438486243

During the 1850s and '60s, by far the most prominent author in all of New York State was the writer, editor, and publisher Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806–1867). Nearly as prominent as Willis himself was his Hudson Valley estate, Idlewild, where literary elites gathered and about which Willis himself wrote and published extensively. In 1846, Willis founded the Home Journal, which would go on to become Town and Country. In Out-Doors at Idlewild, first published in 1855, Willis chronicled the creation of his estate at Cornwall-on-Hudson (near West Point), as well as life amid its countryside. The land afforded brilliant views of the river and the mountains to the East. Calvert Vaux, the famed architect of both landscapes and houses, designed the elaborate and ornate Gothic Revival home, which Willis named Idlewood (whereas he called the estate Idlewild), and into which the Willis family moved in July of 1853. Here, Willis wrote a series of papers for the Home Journal documenting life at the seventy-acre estate. These papers were gathered together in Out-Doors at Idlewild, a celebration of Willis's home and estate.