In 1912, New York City subway workers were digging a new tunnel. Imagine their surprise when they discovered one already finished. The workers unearthed a completely finished, in tact subway station.
The system of tunnels and platforms was the remains of an 1860's pet project of a man named Alfred Beach. Beach was the editor of the magazine Scientific American and was amazed by and presumably very frustrated by the amount of traffic in New York City. Beach's idea was to build a set of tunnels underground where large cars could move people from station to station. Sound familiar? Even more intriguing about Beach's design was that the cars moved by means of a 50 ton fan nicknamed "the Western Tornado." Beach was promoting green technology before environmentalism even existed.
The plan never really worked out because Beach had some strong political enemies. They believed that digging tunnels under the city would literally undermine the integrity of the buildings above. So, Beach's men worked in secrecy. They even dug a tunnel directly under City Hall with no politician ever finding out.
Beach opened his luxurious prototype in 1870. His first station came equipped with frescoes painted on the walls, fountains stocked with fish, and a piano player. Beach eventually received a permit from the state legislature, but his critics had the last laugh as lack of investors shut down the operation after only a few years. In the end, the subway attracted more than four hundred thousand visitors.
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