The NAACP and Its Architects

American Experience

History Series / 14 Seasons

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Watch Latest: S37 E2

53m

The Great Migration: From Mississippi to Chicago

1m 15s

Hundreds of thousands of black people fled Mississippi for Chicago in the years between the world wars. Neighborhoods and schools were segregated, but the city offered a kind of freedom black Mississippians could only dream about.

A New Water System for Chicago

2m 49s

In response to cholera and dysentery epidemics, the Chicago Board of Sewage Commissioners selected Ellis Chesbrough to design a new water system for the city. In Chesbrough's plan, clean water from the lake bottom would pour into intakes under a crib two miles into Lake Michigan, then into an underground tunnel to a water tower. From there, clean water would flow into the city's water mains.

Chicago's Skyscrapers

57s

Skyscrapers were an efficient way to organize businesses within one building. Though skyscrapers were born in New York, the method called Chicago Construction, developed by Chicago architects and engineers between 1880 and 1883, provided the basic structural system for building modern steel-and-glass office towers.

Elevating the City

1m 33s

In response to cholera and dysentery epidemics, the Chicago Board of Sewage Commissioners selected Ellis Sylvester Chesbrough to solve Chicago’s public health crisis. Chesbrough’s planned system relied on gravity flow, but downtown streets were too low to drain into the river. New sewers raised the city's streets as much as 10 feet. The challenge then was to raise the buildings.

Reversing the River

1m 40s

By the mid-19th century, Chicago was a growing city encountering problems with its water supply and sewage disposal. Ellis Chesbrough was selected to solve Chicago’s public health crisis. Chesbrough’s solution: change the direction of the Chicago River. In 1871, the extraordinary feat of engineering was accomplished—the river now flowed west from Lake Michigan and down to the Illinois River.

Chicago's Grain Elevators

1m 38s

Although the grain elevator was invented in Buffalo, the grain elevator system came into being in Chicago—the city built its first in 1848, and by 1858 twelve mammoth grain houses dominated its skyline. By 1861, Chicago's grain trade had increased to 50 million bushels annually -- a rise of over 48 million bushels in a decade -- supporting the city's boast that it fed the world.

Mount Rushmore Chapter 1

11m 25s

An obsessed artist struggles against bankruptcy, public indifference, and a brutal terrain, to build the great American monument, Mount Rushmore. High on a granite cliff in South Dakota's Black Hills tower the huge carved faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Together they constitute the world's largest piece of sculpture.

Mount Rushmore Preview

30s

An obsessed artist struggles against bankruptcy, public indifference, and a brutal terrain, to build the great American monument, Mount Rushmore. High on a granite cliff in South Dakota's Black Hills tower the huge carved faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Together they constitute the world's largest piece of sculpture.

Borglum's Sculpting Technique

2m 22s

After his workers had blasted off the surface rock of the mountain, Gutzon Borglum spent days and nights watching how the light and shadow landed on the mountain. This process ultimately made him decide to deviate from the original plan and shift 20 degrees. Borglum built a studio size model of Mount Rushmore and proceeded to enlarge the measurements on a scale to sculpt the mountain itself.

Sculpting a National Monument

2m 41s

The Borglum family archives include some historic home movies, early color films of the mountain's sculpting in progress. See Gutzon and the workers in action as they struggle with winches, jackhammers -- and Mother Nature.

Mount Rushmore Challenges

46s

Gutzon Borglum and his team of workers were aware that there would be challenges to face during the sculpting of Mount Rushmore. While some of the faults were easy to identify, others were difficult to detect.

Sculpting Jefferson's Head

40s

Even though the workers blasted down 60 feet to find carve-able rock, huge cracks took shape on the Jefferson face. Borglum used a special concoction of materials to fill in the cracks in Jefferson's head, costing additional time and money.

Flood Film Clips

2m 39s

Footage from the 1927 flood. Clips include shots of workers along the Mississippi River enforcing the levees with sandbags, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover surveying the damage, and aerial views of the flooding.

Behind the Scenes with Cinematographer Boyd Estus

2m 58s

Cinematographer Boyd Estus talks about filming the Pioneer Zephyr exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and the joys of shooting historical documentaries.

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