Building the Hoover Dam

Boulder City, Nevada

Boulder City, Nevada, is one of the only federally planned cities in the United States, created in the early 1930s to support the construction of Hoover Dam. During the Great Depression, the federal government intentionally designed Boulder City’s Main Street corridor as the civic, commercial, and social heart of this new community.

Businesses, government offices, schools, gathering places, and housing were carefully planned to provide stability during the project. Engineers, laborers, government officials, and visiting dignitaries all passed through this corridor as the dam took shape just miles away. Learn more >

Painting American Gothic

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Grant Wood’s American Gothic (1930) remains one of the most recognisable images in twentieth‑century American art. Born in Iowa, the American painter Grant Wood (1891 – 1942) emerged as a key voice of Midwestern Regionalism, drawing directly on the people and places of his upbringing. He painted the artwork in his studio in Cedar Rapids.

Next to the Mona Lisa, American Gothic is recognized as the most well-known and parodied painting, including Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog to Hillary and Bill Clinton. Learn more >

The Albany Movement

Albany, Georgia

In 1961, Albany, Georgia, became a pivotal site of the Civil Rights Movement as local activists launched a movement to end segregation across the city. Led by community members and supported by SNCC, the NAACP, the SCLC, and Martin Luther King Jr., the campaign used marches, sit-ins, boycotts, and jail-ins to challenge discriminatory laws. Hundreds were arrested — including King — bringing national attention to Albany’s fight for equality. Learn more >

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Martinsburg, West Virginia

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was the first strike that spread across multiple states in the U.S. In total, there were likely over 100,000 people that were involved in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Of those involved, nearly 1,000 people were jailed and about 100 were killed. The strike caused over 50% of the United States’ rail freight to stop for some time. As a result, the Bureau of Labor was formed by Congress. Learn more >

Final Cuban Missile Crisis Negotiations

Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.

In October 1962, the world faced its most perilous moment during the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis, a tense standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over the deployment of nuclear missiles. American missiles in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Turkey were met with Soviet missiles in Cuba, bringing both superpowers to the brink of nuclear war. On October 27, 1962 — often called ​“Black Saturday,” the most dangerous day of the crisis — emissaries representing U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev met discreetly at the former Yenching Palace Chinese restaurant in Washington, D.C. and quietly laid the groundwork for the agreement that ultimately defused the confrontation. Learn more >