Museum of American Exceptionalism
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Builders

Rails, canals, dams and towers, built bigger and faster than anyone thought possible.

1825–1956 · 11 exhibits
  1. The fleet gathers in New York Harbor for the Grand Canal Celebration, 4 November 1825, painted by Anthony Imbert
    1825Open nowThe Erie CanalDug largely by hand across upstate New York, it opened the West and made New York City the nation’s port.363miles
  2. East and West Shaking Hands at Laying Last Rail, Promontory Summit, May 10, 1869
    1869Open nowThe Golden SpikePromontory Summit, Utah. A trip that took months by wagon now took about a week.7days coast to coast
  3. The Carnegie blast furnaces at Braddock, home of the Edgar Thomson Works, about 1905.
    1875Open nowCarnegie SteelAndrew Carnegie’s mills cut steel rails from $70 a ton to $17 and helped put America ahead of Britain as the world’s steelmaker.#1in world steel
  4. Bird’s-eye view of the opening-night fireworks over the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, 24 May 1883.
    1883Open nowThe Brooklyn BridgeThe longest suspension bridge on earth, the first hung on steel wire, slung from two granite towers 276 feet high.1,595foot main span
  5. The Heywood No. 2 gusher blows above the forest of derricks on Spindletop Hill, 1901
    1901Open nowSpindletopA Texas gusher blew 150 feet into the air, and the oil age began.100,000barrels a day
  6. Workers on Ford’s first moving assembly line build flywheel magnetos at Highland Park, 1913.
    1913Open nowThe Moving Assembly LineHenry Ford put the Model T on a moving line and cut the work to build a chassis from twelve and a half hours to an hour and a half.93minutes per chassis
  7. Culebra Cut with Gold Hill, Panama Canal construction, c. 1912
    1914Open nowThe Panama CanalWhere France failed, America cut through the Continental Divide and joined two oceans.10years to build
  8. Icarus, Empire State Building (Lewis Hine, 1930)
    1931Open nowEmpire State Building102 stories in 410 days. The tallest building on earth for nearly forty years.410days
  9. Boulder (Hoover) Dam column blocks rising in Black Canyon, telephoto from cableway control tower, c. 1934
    1936Open nowHoover DamPoured in the Nevada desert in the middle of the Depression and finished two years ahead of schedule.726feet high
  10. The Golden Gate Bridge lit up at night, seen from the Marin side, May 2012.
    1937Open nowThe Golden Gate BridgeThey said it couldn’t be built across the Golden Gate. It was the longest suspension span in the world for 27 years.4,200feet of span
  11. Interstate 70 rides its viaduct along the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, the final stretch of I-70, opened in 1992. Aerial photograph, 2016.
    1956Open nowThe Interstate HighwaysEisenhower’s 41,000 miles of four-lane freeway tied the continent together and now carry a quarter of all American driving.41,000miles