Google, IBM & Meta Certificates – 40% Off
One plan covers every Professional Certificate on Coursera.
Unlock All Certificates
This 13-minute documentary explores the fascinating history of America's earliest subway experiment—the Beach Pneumatic Transit—built secretly beneath Broadway in 1870. Discover how inventor Alfred Ely Beach created an innovative underground transit system powered by air pressure rather than electricity, which successfully transported passengers through a sealed tunnel before New York's modern subway existed. Learn how this revolutionary and popular transportation solution was ultimately shut down due to political corruption from Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, and how its remains were later discovered during construction of the city's current subway system. Explore this bold innovation that was ahead of its time and contemplate what historical remnants might still lie hidden beneath Manhattan's streets.
