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Tracks to the Union Station, 03/14/1908
Washington DC’s Union Station opened in 1907 and was officially complete in 1908. However it would not be connected to the local streetcar system until later that year. Until then, the only “tracks” were those made by harried travelers through the mud and snow.
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The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center officially opened 40 years ago on April 4, 1973. At the time of their completion they were the tallest buildings in the world.
These photos, taken shortly after the World Trade Center was completed in the early 1970s, are part of the DOCUMERICA series, a program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency to photographically document subjects of environmental concern in America during the 1970s.
Find more images from DOCUMERICA at “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project,” now open at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
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The Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off on its maiden voyage, 30 years ago on April 4, 1983.
Space Transportation System Number 6, Orbiter Challenger, lifts off from Pad 39A carrying astronauts Paul J. Weitz, Koral J. Bobko, Donald H. Peterson and Dr. Story Musgrave, 04/04/1983
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President Ford throws out the first ball of the Texas Rangers 1976 season at Arlington Stadium on April 9, 1976.
Ford capped off the first day of a two-day campaign trip to Texas by attending the opening day game between the Rangers and the Minnesota Twins. Before the start of the game he threw two balls to Texas catcher Jim Sundberg from his seat in a box alongside the home team’s dugout.Although Ford wrote with his left hand he threw with his right, a fact that surprised the press pool.
Due to the demands of his schedule President Ford left after the first inning. At his press conference the next morning he said of his trip so far he had “one regret, I wish I could have stayed and watched the Rangers win that ball game last night.” They beat the Twins 2-1 in 11 innings.Want more Presidents and baseball? Download our new free eBook, “Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives.”
Text and image from the Ford Presidential Library Facebook page (A9187-15A / ARC Identifier 6829632)
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Photograph of a Broken Fire Escape after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 03/25/1911
One of the deadliest industrial disasters in United States history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City left 146 workers dead in 18 minutes on March 25, 1911.
Locked doors kept the workers from escaping; there was not enough water to put out the flames, and firemen’s ladders were too short to reach the upper stories. Many of the young women and men working there leapt out the windows and fell to their deaths onto the sidewalk outside. Others were crushed in the elevator shaft or when the fire escape collapsed.
The fire led to sweeping reforms in labor laws and safety standards, providing a boost to labor unions, and was a pivotal event in the career of future labor secretary Frances Perkins.
(Last year’s post has additional photos of the fire and the victims, a few may be considered graphic.)
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via Prologue: A Factory Fire and Frances Perkins)