Investigations

Cast Iron Eagle

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The Case:

One of the main attractions at a family-run zoo in Sussex, NJ is a majestic, 12-foot-high cast iron eagle perched on an orb in the center of the park. Our contributor’s grandfather founded the park 1927, and family lore is that the eagle had once been perched atop an old post office in New York.

A visitor to the zoo tells the family that the eagle resembles the giant cast iron eagles that graced the old Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The eagle dates to the post-Civil War period, when decorative style involved cast iron prefabrication.

But was Grand Central Station - built for railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt - its original home?

History Detectives investigates the arts and crafts movement at the turn of the 19th century.


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Aired:
Season 5, Episode 7

Detective:
Wes Cowan Location:
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York City

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