Films with: Jefferson, Jon

Mansions, monuments & masterpieces

Visit the extraordinary structures built by the men who rode the railroads to vast fortunes. As the rails spread out across America in the late 19th century, a handful of men reaped the majority of the profits. LeGrand Lockwood's name is largely forgotten now, but the investment banker--a prime early backer of the railroads--was one of America's first millionaires. Twenty years before the excesses of the Gilded Age, he built a 50-room palace in his boyhood home of Norwalk, Connecticut. A far more famous residence is Lyndhurst, the Hudson River home of financier Jay Gould. As befitted his status as one of America's most hated men, it is as much a fortress as a home. But the greatest of all the monuments erected by the railroad kings was, appropriately, a station. Cornelius Vanderbilt was derided for constructing the massive Grand Central Terminal on what was then the unfashionable outskirts of New York. Today, the restored station remains a vibrant hub, and is celebrated as one of the most important buildings in America.

DVD 6578

Walt Disney World

Takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the ingenious technology and incredible engineering feats that went into building Disney World's 27,000 acre complex. Features innovations ranging from a network of underground tunnels connecting the various regions of the park to the space-age propulsion technology called linear synchronous motors. Traces the history of Disney World from Walt Disney's purchase of the Florida land and the building of Magic Kingdom through its ongoing work at the cutting edge of theme park innovation.

DVD 4109