 Firefighters view the remains of the trucks that started it all - one carrying carbon disulfide (right) and the other carrying paint supplies (left). From the "Report: The Holland Tunnel Chemical Fire." May 13, 1949. National Board of Fire Underwriters, N.Y., [July 1949.] Courtesy Hoboken Historical Museum. Last week we learned about the Lincoln Tunnel, but the earlier Holland Tunnel has stories of its own. Opened in 1927, the Holland Tunnel was at the time the longest vehicular underwater tunnel in the world. It connects Jersey City, NJ to lower Manhattan and is still in use today. But in 1949, an extraordinary event would occur. On Friday, May 13, 1949 truck carrying 55 gallon drums of carbon disulfide entered the tunnel. Carbon disulfide is still used today, primarily in the manufacture of viscose rayon and cellophane film. The driver had no idea of the danger of his cargo, which was actually banned from the tunnel because of its toxic and highly flammable fumes. Less than a hundred yards into the tunnel, a drum broke loose from the truck and fell onto the roadway, breaking open and releasing the highly flammable gas. The resulting fire would burn for hours. To tell the full story, we actually have FOUR media resources for you today - two original newsreels from 1949 recounting the event, a podcast entitled "A Miraculous Disaster – In 1949 The Holland Tunnel Burned At 4,000-Degrees And No One Died," and an original report from the National Board of Fire Underwriters. Although no one died in the fire itself, 66 people were treated and 27 hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Among them was Battalion Chief firefighter Gunther E. Beake, who succumbed to injuries from toxic smoke inhalation on August 23, 1949. The incident ultimately resulted in legislation in both New Jersey and New York enacting stiffer penalties and fines for companies who violated cargo rules. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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 The under-construction Lincoln Tunnel, 1936. Wikimedia Commons. Today's Media Monday post is this wonderful film from 1938 about the construction of the Lincoln Tunnel! First proposed in the 1920s as the "Midtown Hudson Tunnel," construction on the tunnel began in 1934, connecting Weekhawken, NJ and midtown Manhattan. The first tube opened in 1937, just a year before this film was produced. The Port Authority advertised the tunnel as "The Direct Way to Times Square" and in the first 24 hours over 7,500 vehicles used the tunnel, which officially opened December 22, 1937, just in time for the busy holiday season. Bus companies were especially happy to be allowed to use the tunnel - previously they had had to board ferries in Weehawken bound for New York City. Two more tubes were later added due to traffic increases, opening in 1945 and 1957, respectively. Construction of the second tube began almost immediately, as the equipment and personnel were already on site. Automobile tunnels under the Hudson River helped alleviate some of the congestion of bridges and ferries, changing New York City streets forever. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Aerial photo of Bannerman's Island Arsenal, taken c. 1943 by the War Department, National Archives. Perhaps you've taken a Metro North or Amtrak train to or from New York City and seen this ruined castle on the Hudson. Or maybe you've seen it from scenic route 218 along the face of Storm King Mountain. Or maybe you've seen it from the shores of Newburgh, NY. Either way, Pollopel Island has been host to this curious structure since the early 1900s. To learn more about Bannerman's Castle, check out the video below! Want to visit Bannerman's Castle? You can! The island and castle are managed by the Bannerman's Castle Trust, a non-profit friends group working hand-in-hand with New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to preserve, stabilize, and provide access to the castle. To book a program or support the Trust, visit their website at bannermancastle.org. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Aerial footage of the Saugerties Lighthouse before restoration. Still from "Hudson River Lighthouse" report from ABC News, c. 1980. When this ABC news special first aired in the 1980s, the few remaining Hudson River Lighthouses were in rough shape. Some, like the Saugerties lighthouse, were even in danger of collapsing. Thankfully, local governments and volunteer organizations stepped up to save them from total destruction. This video, hosted by ABC News reporter Roger Caras, features the Rondout Lighthouse and Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, with interviews with Elise Barry, who wrote the National Register nomination for all seven lighthouses, and Emily Brunner, daughter of Hudson-Athens keeper Emil Brunner. You can visit almost all the Hudson River Lighthouses today! For more information visit www.hudsonriverlighthouses.org. Tours of the Rondout and Esopus Meadows Lighthouses are available on our 100% solar-powered tour boat Solaris! Get tickets here. Do you have a favorite Hudson River lighthouse? Share in the comments! If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Like last week, this week's Media Monday features another RiverWise Project film, this time interviewing Hudson River Estuary Coordinator Fran Dunwell of the DEC about how Storm King Mountain got its name. Watch below for the full story! If you would like to learn more about the history visible from the shores of the Hudson, see more short films, or support the RiverWise documentary film project, visit our RiverWise website! If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Today's Media Monday video is one of our own! In this short documentary film, independent researcher Harv Hilowitz outlines the history of the Lenape people in the Hudson Valley, from pre-contact to the present. This video was recorded as part of the RiverWise Project. If you want to learn more, Harv is leading a series of programs on Lenape history aboard our 100% solar-powered tour boat Solaris! Get tickets here. To learn more about the Lenape in New York today, visit the Lenape Center. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Still from the newsreel on the last voyage of the steamboat "Alexander Hamilton," 1971. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the last trip of the Hudson River Dayline steamboat Alexander Hamilton. The last of the sidewheel steamboats on the Hudson and built in 1924, the Hamilton looms large in the memories of many Hudson River residents. On Saturday we took a look at the Hamilton and a surviving life ring. Today, we get to enjoy a short video of the Hamilton's last voyage. In this newscast from 1971, a reporter interviews Hamilton employees and passengers on her last-ever trip. One employee optimistically states that "Next year we'll have a new ship." Although he may have gone on to work on other passenger boats in New York Harbor or the Hudson River, no sidewheel steamer was ever again built for use on the Hudson River. If you would like to learn more about the Alexander Hamilton, please visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum and view our new mini-exhibit on the 50th anniversary of her last trip. Many thanks to the Steamship Historical Society of America for digitizing this fascinating piece of Hudson River history. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Kate at Robbins Reef - Photograph by Isaac Almstadt (1851-1921), c. 1900. Walker Family Collection, Noble Maritime Collection. Today's Media Monday is all about woman lighthouse keeper Kate Walker! Kate was the keeper at Robbins Reef Lighthouse from 1890 to 1919. Although she did not keep her lighthouse for as long as Catherine Murdock, Katherine Walker became just as famous. To learn more about Kate, check out this video by the U.S. Lighthouse Society's Historian. The Robbins Reef Lighthouse is currently owned by the Noble Maritime Collection in Staten Island. The Hudson River Maritime Museum is working on a documentary film about Hudson River Lighthouses, and Robbins Reef is one of them! You can help bring the museum's documentary film series to life by sponsoring or donating at www.hudsonriverwise.org/support. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
The iceboat "Vixen," c. February, 1967. Ray Ruge Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.
Originally named, "Eugene," the ice yacht Vixen was built in 1886 in what is now Chelsea and was the first successful lateen-rigged ice boat. The new rigging style allowed for even greater speed. Purchased by John A. Roosevelt (FDR's uncle) and renamed Vixen, she can still be seen plying the Hudson whenever it gets cold enough to freeze.
John A. Roosevelt, who lived at Springwood, just down the river from his sister Sarah Roosevelt's home (now the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site), owned a number of ice boats, including the Icicle, on display at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. John A. Roosevelt founded the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club in 1885, breaking away from the older Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club (founded in 1861) over a dispute about race results. John A. Roosevelt served as the club's first Commodore and his nephew Franklin served as Vice-Commodore for a time. ​This brief video of Vixen sailing c. 2010 gives a first-hand look at what sailing the old stern-steerers is like. Hudson River Ice Yachts from fusionlab on Vimeo.
By the 1920s, the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club had fallen into disuse. The old wooden stern-steerers like the Vixen began to be overshadowed in popularity by more modern, streamlined ice boats that looked more like rockets with sails than the old-fashioned kind. Innovations in speed and technology, centered around the Great Lakes in the Midwest, made the old wooden boats obsolete. The knowledge that many of the old stern-steerers, tucked away in garages and barns, were in danger of disappearing. But in 1964, a group led by Cornwall resident and ice boating enthusiast Ray Ruge revived the HRIYC and began rescuing and restoring these old boats.
Ray Ruge (center) receiving a trophy for the Championship of Challenge Race for the Eastern Iceboat Championship Pennant of America, c. February 12, 1940. Ray Ruge Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.
The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club is still around today, although they get to sail a lot less frequently than they used to, thanks to climate change. You can read more about the formation of the club, and ice yachting on the Hudson River in general, in this article, "Two Centuries of Ice Yachting on the Hudson" by Brian Reid, published in the 2007 issue of the Pilot Log.
You can learn more about ice boating and see John A. Roosevelt's Icicle as well as the smaller ice boat Knickerbocker on display at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. The museum also holds the Ray Ruge Collection, including many photographs, articles, and correspondence related to the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club, its stern-steerers, and its members.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​
In 2004 the Steamship Historical Society of America produced the documentary film, "Steamboats: On the Hudson." Featuring footage from rarely seen private collections and from public archives, including scenes of the famous Robert Fulton, the last Hudson steamboat powered by a walking-beam engine. Historian Roger Mabie of Port Ewen contributes his first-hand knowledge of Hudson River steamboat history, and noted steam expert Conrad Milster offers perspective on the machinery that drove the era. The film also features Hudson River Maritime Museum Curator Emerita, Allynne Lange. In April, 2020, the Steamship Historical Society of America shared this documentary film on their YouTube channel, which allows us to share it with you! For over 150 years steamboats ruled the Hudson River, carrying passengers and freight between Albany and New York, and the many river communities in between. This program looks back at the golden age of steam, when spit and polish, and elegant surroundings marked a style of travel that has now disappeared. The Hudson is where steam navigation began, and it is where the American river steamer reached its ultimate expression, with enormous paddle-wheeled vessels carrying over 5,000 passengers. Featuring still photographs, historic film footage, and interviews, "Steamboats: On the Hudson" documents the evolution of steam vessels on the Hudson, from the early 1800s up to the final trip of the steamer Alexander Hamilton in 1971. We hope you enjoy this engaging and informative documentary film. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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