Birdman in segregation
This 1940 architectural plan for improvements to the U.S. Penitentiary at Alcatraz shows details of the first floor and second and third tiers of Cell Block D....
Body light
The U.S. Coast Guard constructed lighthouses as part of its maritime safety program. Body, now spelled Bodie, light is on North Carolina’s outer banks.
Decorating the Elephant House
The National Zoological Park was founded in 1889 and became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1890. As its collections expanded in the 1930s, it began a new...
Five years in the making
German-born John A. Roebling and his son, Washington A. Roebling, designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge connecting New York and Brooklyn. The remarkable design used...
Guarding Capone
This 1940 architectural plan for improvements to the U.S. Penitentiary at Alcatraz shows details and the locations of two new guard towers. Situated on an island in...
Iron railings and burglar proof vaults
This undated drawing of the first floor of the Sub-Treasury Building at 26 Wall Street in New York City shows a building criss-crossed by iron railings, burglar proof...
Moving on up!
This 1846 map of the Capitol Building contains plans to create a chamber for the Supreme Court. At that time, the Court was meeting in the basement of the Capitol,...