At the center of Los Angeles International Airport stands a monument to a future that never arrived: the Theme Building. Designed during the golden Jet Age by architects William Pereira and Charles Luckman, this flying saucer-like structure was once meant to be the beating heart of LAX—a central hub where every journey would begin. It was bold, modern, and meant to revolutionize air travel.

But the plan was scrapped before the dome ever broke ground. Airlines pushed for autonomy, costs ballooned, and LAX became the fragmented airport we know today. What remained was the Theme Building: a shell of the original vision, reimagined as a restaurant and observation deck. In this episode, we explore the unrealized ambition behind the Theme Building and how it became an enduring symbol—rather than a functioning hub—of Los Angeles’ futuristic aspirations.

Just off the coast of Staten Island lies a forgotten island that once played a surprising role in global history. Shooters Island started as a Revolutionary War spy base and evolved into a powerful shipyard, launching vessels for the U.S. military and even crafting a royal yacht for Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In this episode, we explore how this overlooked patch of land helped build warships, hosted presidents and royalty, and then disappeared into obscurity. Today, it’s off-limits, overgrown, and littered with the remains of a once-glorious past.

Before skyscrapers and sirens, Chicago had only one way to fight fire: ringing a church bell. In this episode, we uncover how that simple sound evolved into one of the most advanced fire alarm systems of the 19th century—and how its failure helped fuel one of the greatest disasters in American history.

You’ll explore the forgotten world of fire boxes, telegraph wires, and early dispatchers who worked from the rooftops. From the chaos of the Great Chicago Fire to a city rebuilding with underground cables and talking lines, this is the story of how Chicago built—and nearly lost—its first emergency network.

In our original episode on Mar-a-Lago, we explored the estate’s over-the-top history and iconic design—but we left out one incredibly important feature. After hearing from many of you, I realized there was a surprising piece of architecture that deserved a deep dive of its own.

In this follow-up, we uncover the forgotten purpose of Mar-a-Lago’s towering structure—and how it wasn’t just decorative. Designed in the 1920s before air conditioning was common, the estate’s 75-foot tower was a marvel of passive cooling, channeling ocean breezes and expelling hot air using the stack effect. We’ll also look at how similar design principles shaped buildings across the U.S., from plantations and adobe homes to 19th-century statehouses and lighthouses. This episode is part correction, part revelation—and it proves just how much history can hide in plain sight.

Before New York built its legendary subway system, an inventor quietly constructed a different kind of underground transit—powered not by electricity, but by air. In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach opened the Beach Pneumatic Transit beneath Broadway, a functioning subway that silently whisked passengers through a sealed tunnel using air pressure. It was revolutionary, popular—and ultimately, shut down.

This episode dives into the forgotten story of America’s earliest subway experiment, built in secret under Manhattan at a time when the city’s streets were choked with chaos. We’ll explore how political corruption, especially from Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, crushed the project—and how the remains were unearthed decades later during construction of the modern subway system.

It’s the largest low-rise office building on Earth—and one of the most secretive. With more floor space than the Empire State Building and 17 miles of corridors, the Pentagon is the center of U.S. military command—but the public only sees a sliver of it. From forgotten tunnels to sealed war rooms, its true layout remains hidden even from most who work there.

In this episode, we uncover the forgotten history and classified secrets of the Pentagon: why it was built so fast, what lies in its deeper levels, and how its very structure was designed for control, movement, and defense. From the Pentagon Papers to lost access tunnels and internal surveillance, we reveal why this five-sided fortress is still one of the most off-limits places in America.

Before pressure valves and digital controls, American cities relied on a forgotten form of infrastructure: the standpipe. These towering vertical tubes stabilized water pressure across growing metropolises—but almost all were demolished once they became obsolete. Except in St. Louis.

Between 1871 and 1898, the city built three massive architectural towers to house its standpipes—each one more ambitious than the last. Why did St. Louis treat these utility structures like civic monuments? How did they work? And why are they still standing when every other city tore theirs down? In this episode, we explore the story of St. Louis’ hydraulic past—and the industrial monuments it left behind.

What happens when a prison becomes more famous after it closes? The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield was once a state-of-the-art facility meant to rehabilitate young offenders. But over time, its towering gothic architecture became a symbol of overcrowding, violence, and ghost stories — until it finally shut its doors in 1990.

Today, it’s a hotspot for filmmakers, tourists, and ghost hunters alike — best known as the filming location for The Shawshank Redemption. In this episode, we explore the strange life of the reformatory, from its progressive 19th-century roots to the brutal scandals that defined its later years. You’ll discover how it became both a cinematic icon and one of America’s most haunted places.