Amman's Legacy

In a bonanza of bridge and tunnel building that would transform New York City, Othmar Ammann went on to build the Triborough Bridge, connecting Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens; the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, more delicate in appearance than even the George Washington; and the Throg's Neck Bridge at the opening of Long Island Sound. Finally, as he approached his eightieth birthday in the late 1950s, Ammann began planning for what would become—for the second time in his career—the world's longest suspension bridge: the Verrazano-Narrows, linking Brooklyn and Staten Island. The structure was so large that its design had to take heed of the curvature of the earth.

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Check Stations and Showtimes to see when "Bridging New York" is playing on your local PBS station.

A Tale of Two Rivers

How engineers contained and controlled the Colorado and Mississippi rivers.

Electric Nation

Thomas Edison lights up New York City; Sam Insull brings power to Chicago; and TVA electrifies rural America

Bridging New York

Constructing the George Washington Bridge

The Big Dig

Putting a major highway under Boston