Today in History- January 15, 1955 – first solar-heated and radiation-cooled house in the United States. Respect for the powers of the sun has been a critical part of building design since humans first built shelters for protection from the environment. I grew up in the American Southwest and recall that adobe buildings were designed [...]

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Today in History – January 12, 2010 – 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake in Haiti. The earthquake struck a highly populated region of this impoverished Caribbean island approximately 17 km from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of thousands died,  many more injured, many buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged, infrastructures collapsed and millions became homeless and [...]

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Today in History – January 5, 1933 – Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge. After years of gathering support and funding for the bridge, Joseph Strauss oversaw its construction. The project was so massive that a Golden Gate District was formed to build the bridge. All in all the bridge ended up costing about [...]

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Today in History – January 1, 1853 – The world’s first practical steam-powered fire engine made its debut. In the spring of 1852, Abel Shawk, Alexander Bonner Latta, and Miles Greenwood began construction on the first practical steam-powered fire engine. While other fire engines had existed, theirs was significantly faster, being able to pump water [...]

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Today in History – December 22, 1885 – LaMarcus Thompson patents first Gravity Switchback Railway roller coaster. It was built at Coney Island and became the precursor to the modern roller coaster. At the top of one platform, riders climbed into cars and then rode them down a 600 foot track and up to another [...]

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