Crossing Under the Hudson

The Story of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels

by Angus Kress Gillespie

Published by: Rutgers University Press

Subjects:New York City and State, New Jersey and the Region, Art, Music, and Architecture

232 Pages, 6.0 x 9.0 in, 19

Hardcover
9780813550039
Published: October 16, 2011

$35.95

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PDF
9780813550831
Published: October 16, 2011

$32.95

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EPUB
9780813578118
Published: October 16, 2011

$35.95

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Related Topics:SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Urban

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Crossing Under the Hudson takes a fresh look at the planning and construction of two key links in the transportation infrastructure of New York and New Jersey--the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels. Writing in an accessible style that incorporates historical accounts with a lively and entertaining approach, Angus Kress Gillespie explores these two monumental works of civil engineering and the public who embraced them. He describes and analyzes the building of the tunnels, introduces readers to the people who worked there--then and now--and places the structures into a meaningful cultural context with the music, art, literature, and motion pictures that these tunnels, engineering marvels of their day, have inspired over the years.

Today, when new concerns about global terrorism may trump bouts of simple tunnel tension, Gillespie's Crossing Under the Hudson continues to cast a light at the end of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels.

Acknowledgments

Introduction
1. It Can't Be Done: Planning for the Holland Tunnel
2. A Breath of Fresh Air: Building the Holland Tunnel
3. Winning Acceptance: Grand Opening of the Holland Tunnel
4. Let's Build Another One: Construction of the Lincoln Tunnel
5. Law and Order: The Role of the Port Authority Police
6. Road Hazards: Threats to Life and Property
7. If You See Something, Say Something: Dealing with the Threat of Terrorism
8. Rush Hour Frustration: Dealing with Traffic Congestion
9. Tunneling Through the Arts: A Survey of Creative Endeavors
10. The Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Future of the Tunnels

Notes
Index

Angus Kress Gillespie teaches American Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A Fulbright professor and a New York Times best-selling author, he has written on subjects ranging from skyscrapers to superhighways. Gillespie is the author of Twin Towers and the coauthor of Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike (both Rutgers University Press).

"Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Holland Tunnell are all part of the Jersey City heritage that we share with the rest of America, so Gillespie's carefully researched book is a welcome addition to my library."
~Jeremiah T. Healy, Mayor of Jersey City

"The success of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel projects demanded marvels of technological prowess and near-miracles of political cooperation within the bi-state, ever-contentious confines of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Angus Kress Gillespie weaves this multi-layered story into a delightfully readable account; a remarkable feat of narrative engineering highlighting the author's trademark gifts of clarity, wit, precision, and an amazing gift for rendering highly technical processes into a most pleasurable experience of reading."
~James T. Fisher, author of On the Irish Waterfront

"Most commuters who pass through the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels are oblivious to the endeavors of the sandhogs who built them. Gillespie's book is a well-rounded tribute to the hard-working, blue-collar men who built these engineering marvels.

"
~Thomas Kelly, author of the critically acclaimed novel Sandhogs