January 9: ON THIS DAY in 1908, celebration at Borough Hall for new train tunnel

January 9, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1908, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Brooklyn burst forth into loud rejoicing over the opening of the Battery tunnel today. A tremendous throng filled all the open space around the Borough Hall and crowded along the side streets to greet the official train that opened the tunnel. The subway was officially opened by an eight-car train that dashed from Bowling Green to the Borough Hall in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The train arrived in Brooklyn just at noon. It was met with a din of noise from shrieking sirens, bursting bombs, and a cheering multitude. The official party of distinguished citizens, railroad and city officials marched in double file upstairs to Joralemon Street. There the crowd was so dense that the party could not make its way around the Borough Hall to the front steps where the ceremonies of celebration were to occur. It was necessary to take the party through a lane of policemen into the Borough Hall and through the building to the front … Even the clear blue sky was decorated with great American flags floating from parachutes. These flags, sent up in bombs, floated proudly away over Brooklyn with the message that the tunnel was opened and that Brooklyn had come into a part of her heritage.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1910, the Eagle reported, “London, December 31 — Television, the art of seeing by wire, has apparently been changed from a scientific dream into an accomplished fact. According to a dispatch just received from Berlin, Ernst Ruhmer, a young German electrical engineer, has finally succeeded in perfecting the first working model of a television apparatus. The apparatus is now in the custody of the Belgian government, which is reported to be so favorably impressed that it is seriously considering the construction of an elaborate plant as the most wonderful contribution to the Brussels Exhibition planned for 1910 … ‘Seeing by wire,’ Ruhmer is quoted in the Berlin dispatch as saying, ‘has now become merely a question of money. The process has been perfected, but its application is necessarily extremely costly.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “The Twenty-third Regiment came home from the border today after an absence of six months, and Brooklyn gave them a welcome home. A wave of sentiment and patriotism such as men, whose business it has been to witness stirring demonstrations, said they had never seen in Brooklyn, swept over street after street, as they marched through on the way to the armory. The old spirit which many had thought either dormant or dead — the spirit of Americanism of an earlier day — was quick to leap into flame. The men were an inspiring sight. Bronzed by the sun and ‘hard as nails’ by their heavy work on the border, they presented a different appearance than when they marched through Brooklyn on July 4, leaving for the border. On that day they wilted, perspiration rolled down their faces, and not a few showed signs of exhaustion early in the march. Today they were new men.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “United Press — Mysterious objects seen floating in the sky over Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio revived speculation about ‘flying saucers’ today. The latest report on the phenomena was at Wilmington, Ohio, where personnel at the Clinton County Air Base reported a flaming ball of red fire which was seen for 35 minutes until it disappeared over the horizon. National Guard headquarters in Kentucky blamed the death of a pilot on a mysterious gleaming object which he was chasing. They said pilot Thomas F. Mantell, flying without oxygen equipment, apparently flew too high, became unconscious and lost control of his plane. He crashed near Franklin, Ky. A bright, bulb-shaped object also was reported seen at Clarksville, Nashville and Columbia, Tenn., and at several points in southern Kentucky yesterday. The ball of fire at Wilmington was seen by Staff Sgt. Gale F. Walter and Corp. James Hudson in the patrol tower at the air base. They watched it for 35 minutes. They described it as a flaming red cone trailing a gaseous green mist.”