Modern Marvels

- Season 3

(1996)

The dangerous early history of railroads in the United States and the various inventions that slowly made them safer.

The story of Mount Rushmore is set against the backdrop of events and the changing mood of America which influenced the final sculpture. This program is as much a tribute to the dream of Mount Rushmore and all those who created it as it is a recounting of the story of the monument.

Witness this invention's unbelievably dramatic true story: one of false starts, close calls, and a bitter rivalry.

From Houston's Astrodome to Toronto's stunning Skydome, follow the history of the revolutionary structures that have transformed sports in America.

Made of stone and glass, persistence and prayer, the Gothic Cathedral is an epiphany of imagination and an articulation of joy. Through its imposing form we see the evolution of Man's reverence reflected in dynamic design and innovation devoted to the celebration of the sanctity within us all. From Notre Dame and Chartres Cathedral in France...to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where traditional building techniques and aesthetics are preserved...here is the story of how some Modern Marvels are Man's gift to acknowledge something greater than himself.

More than 50 years after its construction, the Golden Gate is still regarded as one of the world's great engineering marvels. It took 25 million man-hours and 80,000 miles of cable to complete. But the cost in human life was even greater.

The story of how Thomas Edison and his team created the phonograph, the first audio recorder and playback machine.