 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!
 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!
Today's Media Monday features this 10-minute tour of lower Manhattan from 1937!
Produced by the Van Beuren Corporation as a travelogue, part of the "World on Parade" series, "Manhattan Waterfront" was distributed by RKO Pictures in 1937. Watch the full movie below!
We see tugboats and sailing schooners, barge families, Fulton Fish Market, We also see the lives of the super-rich contrasted with the lives of the poor, living in waterfront shacks, or in neat houses built on top of abandoned barges. Interestingly, despite the fact that 1937 was the height of the Great Depression, the narrator blames the indigent for not taking advantage of the "land of opportunity." We also see most of Manhattan's bridges, including the 6 year old George Washington Bridge with only one deck. ​
How much of lower Manhattan can you still recognize today?
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!​
 Hudson River Day Line ticket, excursion to Indian Point. Hunter Haines Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum. On Saturday our Featured Artifact was the bell of the Mary Powell, and you may have noticed that Captain Benson mentioned it was located at Indian Point Park for many years after the Mary Powell was scrapped. And maybe you thought to yourself. Indian Point PARK? Isn't Indian Point a nuclear power plant? Well, it wasn't always. To find out more about the history of Indian Point, check out the video below. Indian Point Energy Center was officially closed on April 30, 2021 after 59 years of operation. Constructed in 1962, it was embroiled in controversy with the burgeoning environmental movement, which was focused on the Hudson River. To learn more about the history of the Indian Point Energy Center in relation to environmental activism in the Hudson Valley, check out our online exhibit, Rescuing the River, or visit the physical exhibit in-person at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. 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!
 Movie still from WWII era newsreel "American Convoys Girdle Globe" about the importance of the Merchant Marines. Today is Memorial Day. And although the real meaning of the holiday often gets lost in all the sales and barbecues, we thought we'd take some time to remember some of the unsung heroes of wartime - the U.S. Merchant Marine. This WWII-era newsreel highlights the important work of the Merchant Marine during the war: The Merchant Marine refers to all U.S. flagged cargo ships and freighters. During wartime, these civilian vessels - and their civilian crews - were crucial to moving war materiel and maintaining supply lines across the oceans. Because these men were not officially enlisted in the military, despite their hugely important wartime work, they have not traditionally been celebrated on Memorial Day. In fact, National Maritime Day, held on May 22nd, is often referred to as the Merchant Marine Memorial Day. But merchant mariners had a higher wartime casualty rate than any branch of the military during the Second World War. One in 26 merchant mariners died in the war, a higher rate than even the U.S. Marines. During WWII, approximately 243,000 merchant mariners served, and over 9,500 died as a result of enemy action, nearly 4%. In contrast, the U.S. Coast Guard, in which 242,000 served, lost 571 men to enemy action, or about a quarter of a percent. Despite these high casualty rates, because they were not enlisted in a branch of the military, the Merchant Marines were not eligible for Purple Heart medals. In 1943, Congress attempted to rectify that lack with the establishment of the Merchant Marines Mariner's Medal. Over 6,000 medals were awarded before it was discontinued in 1956. It was not awarded in subsequent conflicts, but in 1992, the US Department of Transportation announced several new medals which were retroactively awarded to merchant mariners who served in Korea, Vietnam, and more recently wartime engagements, including Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and others. To get a taste of the dangerous voyages that merchant mariners made in wartime, there are a couple of movies to check out. The first is "Action in the North Atlantic," a 1943 film starring Humphrey Bogart. Bogart stars as a hero of the wartime merchant marine in "Action in the North Atlantic." During World War II, the United States has been supplying its ally, the Soviet Union, as that country valiantly fights the invading German Army. But the supply lines cross the frigid, treacherous waters of the North Atlantic. When his ship is torpedoed by the Germans in mid-ocean, first mate Joe Rossi (Bogart) rallies the survivors of his crew to navigate their tiny lifeboat to land. After their harrowing journey, the brave seamen have only a brief time ashore before they set out to sea again, daring another crossing through submarine infested waters to supply the desperate Russians. Another, more recent film also highlights the dangers of the Battle of the Atlantic to merchant mariners: "Greyhound," released in 2020 and starring Tom Hanks. Although it focuses on the captain of the lead naval destroyer escorting a convoy across the Atlantic, you get a feel for the extreme danger posed to merchant mariners by U-boats, and how many ships and lives were lost attempting to keep the supply lines open and running. Based on the real events of the Battle of the Atlantic, "Greyhound" makes for good, if nerve-wracking, watching. “If you’re a merchant sailor, you don’t know if the ship you’re on at any moment will suddenly explode. You don’t know if it is hit and you have to go in the water, will you be found? … If you’re a survivor, you hope to God you get in a lifeboat, and then you hope that somebody picks you up. Otherwise, you’re done.” To learn more about the real life counterparts of the Greyhound, check out this article from the Smithsonian Magazine. As we remember all those who lost their lives in military action this Memorial Day, we hope you'll remember the Merchant Marines, too. 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!
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