The MoMa was founded in 1929, and moved into, and out of, temporary locations, but in 1939 finally opened the doors of the building it still occupies in midtown Manhattan. The most stunning reinvention of the museum — the ‘New MoMa’ — opened to the public on November 20, 2004. Read more about the building’s state-of-the-art architecture and design…
In Washington State, there are 26 Native American tribes–all of them trading in fireworks. Boomtown follows the Suquamish Tribe during the hectic firework season, while exploring the politics of Indian Sovereignty in the US. Watch online through January 5, 2009. (originally aired 2002)
Journalist and historian Louis “Studs” Terkel, who is credited with popularizing oral histories, which he called “guerrilla journalism,” died Friday, October 31, 2008, at his Chicago home at age 96. See interviews with Terkel from around PBS; read more…
A contributor from Bath, Maine has an 1853 French Napoleon coin with a bent, split edge and a great bit of family lore: it’s said that the coin was shot by Annie Oakley and that Annie herself gave the coin to two of the contributor’s great-grand uncles. History Detectives conducts ballistics tests to find out. Watch. (Originally aired: Season 6, Episode 1).
It took approx. 30 years for the NYC Subway to go from concept to opening. In 1904, Mayor McClellan drove the train on the first subway line, which went from City Hall to 145th and Broadway. Read more about the system and watch a 1905 film of the subway.
These video segments are free to watch in Oct…Justine Shapiro takes a gothic Halloween trip to Whitby, England AND visits Munich’s Oktoberfest. Chef Peter Gordon cooks in Southern China whilst Megan McCormick tries her hand at pole-fishing in Sri Lanka and sees the Fall colors of New England. All from season 13. More info; Watch videos.
On this day in 1959, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens on New York’s Museum Mile, at the edge of Central Park. It took 13 years and more than $2 million for Frank Lloyd Wright to build the Guggenheim. Despite failing eyesight, Wright lived to finish the design, but the building wasn’t completed until after his death.
A Staten Island woman has a well-worn saddle with the name “Bill Pickett” burned into it. She believes it was once owned by legendary cowboy Bill Pickett, an African-American Wild West Show and film star. History Detectives meets a real-life steer wrestler and talks with a 101 Ranch historian. Watch. (Originally aired: Season 5, Episode 11).
The fake news program, The Colbert Report, first aired on Comedy Central on October, 17, 2005. Along with The Daily Show, The Colbert Report has developed something of a …
Margarete Gertrud Zelle, known by her alias, Mata Hari, is one of the most infamous spies of the 20th century. On this day in 1917, the seductive spy was executed for espionage and treason by a French firing squad outside of Paris. Read more about Mata Hari on NOVA. Find out more on “Spycatchers.”
