Claim OwnershipIT’S HISTORY
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© Ryan Socash
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IT’S HISTORY is a ride through history – join us in discovering the world’s most important eras, the minds that changed everything, and the most important inventions of our time through weekly tales of Urban Decay.
This podcast is distributed and operated by Video Brothers Music.
This podcast is distributed and operated by Video Brothers Music.
429 Episodes
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Beneath the streets of Midtown Manhattan lies a secret rail siding few New Yorkers know about: Track 61. Originally built in the 1910s as part of Grand Central’s service yard, it once hauled coal and ash. But when the Waldorf Astoria rose above it in 1931, the track was reborn as a private platform—linked directly to the hotel by a massive freight elevator.Over the decades, it carried generals, presidents, and celebrities into the Waldorf’s back halls. Franklin D. Roosevelt himself used it, while Andy Warhol staged a party there in the 1960s. Yet much of Track 61’s legend comes from myth, not fact. In this episode, we’ll uncover the truth behind the secret platform, its origins in New York’s golden age of rail, and why it remains one of the city’s most enduring urban mysteries.
Did you ever wonder what happens to McDonald’s after the golden arches go dim? Across the globe, thousands of locations have been demolished, replaced, or — stranger still — left abandoned. From a UFO-shaped McDonald’s in England to a floating restaurant known as the “McBarge,” to a frozen-in-time outpost on a remote Alaskan island, these forgotten arches reveal an eerie side of fast food history.In this episode, we trace the rise of McDonald’s from its postwar boom to its strangest abandoned locations, exploring how nostalgia, decay, and urban legend collide in the ruins of the world’s most famous fast-food chain. What do these lost restaurants say about modern life — and why do they capture our imagination long after the fries have gone cold?
Beneath Chicago’s gleaming Cloud Gate lies the city’s most dramatic makeover. This episode traces Grant Park from marshland and post–Great Fire landfill to a soot-choked Illinois Central rail yard—and the century-long fight to keep the lakefront “forever open, clear and free.” We follow Daniel Burnham’s 1909 vision, Montgomery Ward’s lawsuits, and the philanthropists who turned coal dust into culture with Buckingham Fountain (1927) and a growing civic stage.Then we jump to the 1990s deck-over that birthed Millennium Park: Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain, and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate—plus the hidden world beneath it all: Millennium Station, the Pedway, miles of garages, and relic freight tunnels. By the end, you’ll see why Chicago’s front yard is both a monument to beauty and a marvel of buried infrastructure.
Carved deep into the granite of Colorado’s Front Range lies one of America’s most secretive Cold War creations: the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Built to survive nuclear war, this underground fortress housed command centers, power plants, reservoirs, and even living quarters—an entire city inside a mountain. Protected by 25-ton blast doors and thousands of feet of rock, it became the nerve center of NORAD, watching the skies day and night.But beyond its serious mission, Cheyenne Mountain captured the imagination of the world. From WarGames to Independence Day to Stargate SG-1, Hollywood transformed it into a symbol of ultimate survival. In reality, life underground was far more human—long shifts, sealed doors, and constant vigilance. So why did the United States build a city inside a mountain, and what really lies behind those blast doors? Stay tuned as we uncover the full story of America’s ultimate doomsday bunker.
For decades, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport had a bizarre secret hiding in plain sight: a 19th-century cemetery, fenced off and surrounded by active taxiways.This wasn’t a memorial or museum — it was the actual resting place of the early settlers who founded the now-vanished village of Elmbank. As jets roared overhead, their graves remained untouched for over half a century — until safety concerns forced a difficult decision.In this episode, Ryan Socash unpacks how a Catholic cemetery ended up in the middle of Canada’s busiest airport, why it remained there for so long, and what finally led to its emotional and controversial relocation.
Running across Detroit’s northern edge, 8 Mile has long been more than just a road. Beneath its lanes lies a story of surveys, treaties, and housing maps that turned a simple baseline into one of America’s most infamous dividing lines. At its most extreme, the divide was made concrete — literally — when developers built a six-foot segregation wall in 1941 to separate Black and white neighborhoods.In this episode, we uncover how 8 Mile became a symbol of division, how Eminem’s rise brought it global attention, and how the community later reclaimed the wall with murals and memory. From Native American trails to Motown, from redlining to rap battles, this is the hidden history of Detroit’s forbidden road.
Before the subway tunneled beneath Manhattan, New York’s transit network rose above it all — and in some places, it rose twice.\n\nIn this episode, we uncover the forgotten story of New York’s double-decker elevated railways — a system of stacked stations, two-tier junctions, and sky-high platforms that once ruled the city. From express trains thundering over locals, to ferry terminals connected directly to upper-level walkways, this system was nothing short of an engineering marvel.But over time, these vertical giants became costly, outdated, and unloved. By 1973, the last double-deck El had vanished — leaving behind only fragments hidden in plain sight. Join us as we explore the strange rise and dramatic fall of a second city in the sky.
Beneath the golden glow of Radio City Music Hall’s stage lies a secret most audiences never knew existed—an opulent apartment built for showman Samuel Lionel “Roxy” Rothafel. Designed with gold-leaf ceilings, velvet drapery, and whisper-perfect acoustics, the Roxy Suite once hosted legends like Alfred Hitchcock, Judy Garland, and Walt Disney. But when Roxy died suddenly in 1936, the apartment was sealed off and forgotten for decades.In this episode, we uncover the hidden story of the Roxy Suite: why it was built, how it was lost, and what became of it after its rediscovery in the 1970s. From Rockefeller Center’s bold vision during the Great Depression to Radio City’s near-demolition, this forgotten apartment reveals the drama, glamour, and survival of one of America’s greatest theaters.
Beneath Toronto’s bustling streets lies a hidden world most people never see — over 3,400 miles of tunnels, storm drains, and pumping stations that carry water where rivers once flowed. In this episode, we uncover how Toronto transformed its natural creeks and valleys into one of the largest underground sewer networks in North America.From lost waterways like Garrison and Taddle Creek to the engineering mega-projects that reshaped the city, this story reveals how politics, public health crises, and rapid growth buried Toronto’s rivers forever. What was once open water now flows in darkness — a hidden layer of the city’s forgotten history.
Deep in California’s high desert, row after row of U.S. Army tanks, Humvees, and armored carriers sit baking in the sun. More than 20,000 vehicles, lined up like a mechanical graveyard, stretch across 36,000 acres of barren land. To the outside world, it appears to be mass abandonment—but the truth is far more complex.In this episode, we uncover the hidden history of Sierra Army Depot, the Army’s vast storage site for America’s war machines. From its World War II origins to the Cold War buildup and its modern role as both scrapyard and lifeline for the military, this is the story of how and why California became home to the largest tank depot in the United States.
Beneath the quiet town of Wieliczka, Poland, lies one of the most extraordinary underground creations in human history. Stretching for over 180 miles, the Wieliczka Salt Mine holds chapels carved entirely from salt, a vast cathedral, and even an underground lake once sailed upon by visitors. For centuries, it has drawn kings, scientists, and artists into its shadowy depths.But not everything has remained on display. Sealed-off shafts, hidden monuments, and forgotten sculptures have been rediscovered in recent decades—remnants of a working mine that also became a place of faith, devotion, and artistry. From the world’s largest underground chapel to a forgotten salt obelisk for an emperor, this is the story of the Wieliczka Salt Mine’s lost wonders and why they still captivate today.
When you hear “Rat Island,” your mind might jump to something grim—but the truth is far more fascinating. Tucked between City Island and Hart Island in the Bronx, this rocky outcrop has quietly witnessed some of the strangest chapters in New York City history. From Revolutionary War espionage to yellow fever quarantines, it’s been a hideout for spies, a prison for the sick, and a retreat for artists and outcasts.In this episode, we uncover the hidden story of Rat Island—New York’s only privately owned island. You’ll learn how a lone seaman lived in isolation for years, why Broadway actors gathered here in the 1930s, and how a Swiss statue wound up watching over the waves. Rat Island may be small, but its legacy is larger than life.
Since 1793, the U.S. Capitol has stood not just as a seat of government, but as a deliberate message. From its Roman-inspired columns to the massive Civil War dome, the Capitol was designed to project power, unity, and divine destiny. Every stone, mural, and chamber told Americans—and the world—that this was more than politics. It was permanence.In this episode, we reveal how the Capitol became America’s greatest piece of architectural propaganda. From fires and war to expansion and survival, discover how this building shaped the nation’s identity while symbolizing its endurance.
Hidden beneath the streets of Fort Worth, Texas, lies the story of America’s only privately-owned subway—a transit system unlike anything else in the nation. Built in 1963 by Leonard’s Department Store, this free underground shuttle carried thousands of shoppers from a 5,000-car riverfront parking lot directly into the store’s basement.In this episode, we uncover how Marvin and Obadiah Leonard turned a bold idea into a reality, why it became a hit with customers and office workers alike, and what ultimately led to its quiet closure in 2002. From golden spikes to abandoned tunnels, this is the forgotten tale of Fort Worth’s Leonard Subway.
Have you ever heard of a town named after a game show? Welcome to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico—a real place with a name that sounds like a dare. But this quirky rebrand wasn’t just for laughs. It was a last-ditch effort to save a dying spa town, and it worked… at least for a while.Originally called Hot Springs, the town was once a desert retreat drawing presidents, movie stars, and thousands of tourists. But by the 1940s, its glory days were fading—until a national game show offered a strange lifeline. When the town agreed to rename itself after Truth or Consequences, it became an instant media sensation. The name stuck, the tourists came back, and the town became a symbol of offbeat Americana.\n\nIn this episode, we dive into the bizarre but true story of how one New Mexico town risked its identity—and became a legend in the process.
In the summer of 2014, a sinkhole in downtown Cedar Rapids cracked open a forgotten chapter of American history. Beneath the city, engineers discovered vast brick-lined chambers—19th-century beer caves once used to store thousands of barrels before refrigeration changed brewing forever.These underground vaults tell the story of immigrant brewers, the rise of Iowa’s beer industry, and how Prohibition sealed away a hidden world. In this episode, we uncover how these caves were built, why they vanished, and what remains today beneath the streets of Cedar Rapids.
What happens when the dead need to travel? In the 19th century, booming cities like London ran out of burial space—and the solution wasn’t underground. It was on the rails. In 1854, the London Necropolis Railway launched a one-way ticket to the afterlife, transporting coffins and mourners to a sprawling cemetery outside the city. But the real transformation began when Abraham Lincoln’s body was placed aboard a 1,600-mile funeral train that changed how the world said goodbye to its leaders.In this episode, we trace the powerful history of funeral trains—from Lincoln’s national procession and Churchill’s code-named “Operation Hope Not” to FDR’s armored railcar and the plexiglass windowed carriage of George H.W. Bush. Along the way, we’ll explore the symbolism, technology, and tragic moments that defined this forgotten tradition. These were more than trains. They were moving monuments to grief, power, and memory.
The Huber Breaker wasn’t just another coal-processing plant—it was a steel giant capable of crushing 7,000 tons of anthracite coal every single day. Built in 1939 as the last great hope for Pennsylvania’s coal industry, it symbolized both the power of American industry and the human cost behind it. This machine didn’t just break coal; it broke the workers and communities who depended on it.In this episode, we uncover the haunting story of the Huber Breaker—its rise as a technological marvel, its decades of harsh labor and exploitation, and its slow collapse into an abandoned hazard. From breaker boys to Blue Coal branding, and from immigrant labor to urban explorers, discover how this towering relic of the coal age shaped—and scarred—Pennsylvania.
In the 1920s, San Pedro’s Point Fermin was a coastal paradise—bungalows perched on ocean bluffs, palm-lined streets, and Red Car trolleys connecting it all. But by 1929, the ground beneath this dream neighborhood began to shift. Cracks split sidewalks, homes tilted toward the sea, and entire streets disappeared in slow motion.Today, this collapsed community is known as Sunken City—a forbidden ruin fenced off from the public, yet still visited by thrill-seekers and graffiti artists. In this episode, we uncover how one of Los Angeles’s most promising neighborhoods crumbled into the Pacific, and what traces remain of the lives once lived there.
1923, workers hauled thousands of lightbulbs, steel beams, and lumber up a steep canyon to advertise a housing development called Hollywoodland. Meant to last just 18 months, the sign survived collapse, neglect, and decades of change — eventually transforming into one of America’s most recognizable landmarks.But today, the Hollywood Sign is more than a cultural icon — it’s also a highly protected zone. In this episode, we explore how a real estate stunt became a pop symbol, why it was nearly torn down, and how modern-day visitors risk arrest just by getting too close.
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