Name: The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Disaster
Brand: Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt
SKU: 9781467142717
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Disaster

9781467142717

$21.99

On Christmas Eve 1917, an overcrowded, out-of-control streetcar exited the Mount Washington tunnel, crashing into pedestrians. Twenty-three were killed and more than eighty injured in the worst transit incident in Pittsburgh history. The crash scene on Carson Street was chaotic as physicians turned the railway offices into a makeshift hospital and bystanders frantically sought to remove the injured and strewn bodies from the wreckage. Most of the victims, many women and children, were from the close-knit neighborhoods of Knoxville, Beltzhoover and Mount Oliver. In the aftermath, public outrage over the tragedy led to criminal prosecution, civil suits and the bankruptcy of the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which operated the service. Author Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt explores the tragic history of the Mount Washington transit tunnel disaster.

The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Disaster

City Steps of Pittsburgh

9781467156721

$24.99

Exploring Pittsburgh's Ups and Downs

In Pittsburgh, the elevation varies wildly, fluctuating 660 feet from highest to lowest points throughout the area and making it one of the hilliest cities in the United States. Throughout this unruly and physically challenging landscape, the city's first mass transportation system was built – a steadily expanding network of public stairways, locally referred to as city steps, these flights of stairs are a throwback to a very different time in history and a very different Pittsburgh. Authors Laura Zurowski, Charles Succop and Matthew Jacob present the history of the Steel City steps and a walking guide to their scenic locations today.

Cover image for City Steps of Pittsburgh, isbn: 9781467156721

Hidden History of Transportation in Los Angeles

9781626196711

$23.99

Los Angeles transportation's epic scale--its iconic freeways, Union Station, Los Angeles International Airport and the giant ports of its shores--has obscured many offbeat transit stories of moxie and eccentricity. Triumphs such as the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Mac Barnes's Ground Link buspool have existed alongside such flops as the Santa Monica Freeway Diamond Lane and the Oxnard-Los Angeles Caltrain commuter rail. The City of Angels lacks a propeller-driven monorail and a freeway in the paved bed of the Los Angeles River, but not for a lack of public promoters. Horace Dobbins built the elevated California Cycleway in Pasadena, and Mike Kadletz deployed the Pink Buses for Orange County kids hitchhiking to the beach. Join Charles P. Hobbs as he recalls these and other lost episodes of LA-area transportation lore.

Hidden History of Transportation in Los Angeles

Engineering Pittsburgh

9781625859693

$23.99

Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure is renowned for traversing valleys, mountains, rivers and everything in between. Early surveying in the region delineated state and local boundaries that allowed for the mapping of canals, railroads and roadways. Engineers developed bridges, ground transportation systems and airports that linked Pittsburgh to the world. Frequently overflowing rivers transformed into reliable navigation passageways. Drinking water and wastewater treatment systems allowed development and population to flourish, leading to investments in iconic buildings. Join expert civil engineers and professionals as they narrate the story of Pittsburgh and the surrounding region's engineering triumphs.

Streetcars of Florida's First Coast

9781626197077

$23.99

In the late 1800s, a new method to power streetcars ushered Florida's First Coast cities into the modern era. Earlier travelers moved around town on hay burners, but after the very first electric-powered trolley cruised up Jacksonville's Main Street in 1893, railways cropped up throughout the region. When the new railroad terminal opened in 1919, it handled millions of passengers, becoming the hub of the streetcar system and the largest railroad station in the South. With almost sixty miles of track, the Jacksonville Traction Company was the largest streetcar system in Florida. Award-winning author and historian Robert W. Mann chronicles the story behind Florida's bygone streetcar epoch and the dramatic history of city builders, financiers, organized labor, civil rights, fire, fever, nabobs and railway men.

Baltimore’s Historic Oakenshawe

9781467136235

$21.99

The story of Baltimore's historic Oakenshawe neighborhood is a tale of two families and a dream to create an idyllic place.

The powerful Wilson family made fortunes in colonial shipping and established a summer estate for more than one hundred years. The Mueller families were prominent Baltimore builders, and Phillip C. Mueller envisioned an upscale community of terraced townhomes on the Wilson estate. After purchasing the property, he died suddenly, and his family banded together to create a vibrant "streetcar suburb" providing affordable homes along newly accessible streetcar routes. Join author D.J. Wilson as he takes readers through the history of Baltimore's Oakenshawe.

Riding Denver's Rails:

9781609499150

$21.99

In 1872, the Mile High City embraced a new way to get around and eventually boasted one of the largest streetcar systems in the nation. Enjoy the varied stops the transit system made as it grew along with the city, from the early horsecars of the Denver Horse Railroad Company and the steam-powered Colfax Avenue Railway to the running cable cars of the Denver Tramway and the electric trolleys of the South Denver Cable Railway Company. Though the last of the city's streetcars were pulled from service in the 1950s, Denver continues to expand its modern public transportation system with today's growing Light Rail. Join Denver historian Kevin Pharris on a tour of the city's glorious transit past as well as the modern improvements that are getting people onto the rails once again.

Copley Square

9781625858405

$21.99

Copley Square is one of Boston's most architecturally significant and instantly recognizable public locations. This urban square is home to Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, Old South Church and the Hancock Tower, among other important landmarks. The square defines the city, as well as the evolution of American architecture and urban design, from colony toward the sophistication of global European squares, moving creatively from Beaux-Arts style to International Style and Modernism. Architectural historian Leslie Humm Cormier, PhD, explores this contemporary place from its origins as an estuary to its vital significance as a stylistic link between old-world style and new-world design.