Up Next
Back to Show
American Experience
Powering New York's Subway System
Running the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) required the most powerful electrical plant in the world. The central powerhouse generated alternating current, which could be sent over long distances. Rotary converters were then built to change the alternating current into direct current needed to run the trains. These rotary converters were placed in substations scattered throughout the city.
Support Provided By
1:52:23
How a horrific incident of racial violence became catalyst for the civil rights movement.
1:52:47
Part Two examines the mounting dispute over strategies and reveals the pervasive racism.
1:52:42
The fiery campaign that led to passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the vote.
1:53:12
The Eugenics Crusade tells the story of the campaign to breed a “better” American race,
1:52:46
The Gilded Age: Full Film
1:53:15
The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
52:55
The story of nine young men from Washington who captured gold at the 1936 Olympic Games.
52:03
After attempting to commit the perfect crime, would two boys get the death penalty?
1:20:50
The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:21
The 1968 My Lai massacre and its subsequent cover-up.
52:01
In the 1950's a Polio outbreak swept the U.S., devastating communities nationwide.
1:49:38
The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.