0:00:02 > 0:00:08I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in 1879,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17my Appletons' General Guide
0:00:17 > 0:00:20will steer me to everything that's novel...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23beautiful...
0:00:23 > 0:00:26memorable or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29ALL: Amen!
0:00:29 > 0:00:31As I cross the continent,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I'll discover America's gilded age,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom that tied
0:00:38 > 0:00:43the nation together and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'm continuing my American adventure through New York state,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15where, in Appletons' time, an industrial revolution was underway.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I began in Manhattan and I'll head north towards Poughkeepsie
0:01:18 > 0:01:22and the state capital, Albany.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27I'll turn west to the Great Lakes, taking in Rochester and Buffalo
0:01:27 > 0:01:31and finish at the tourist hot spot of Niagara Falls.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46My journey through New York state continues on Long Island,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51180 miles long with a population of eight million.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56It hosts two of New York City's boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59It was often the first sighting of the United States for immigrants
0:01:59 > 0:02:04and, even today, air passengers survey its streets and houses
0:02:04 > 0:02:07before landing at Kennedy Airport.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12The Long Island Rail Road daily ferries its commuters to the city,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17and, at weekends, carries the city's holiday-makers to its beaches.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28On today's leg, I cross the East River to New York City's
0:02:28 > 0:02:34most populous borough, Brooklyn, and its holiday hot spot, Coney Island.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I'll take in Queens, the largest of the five boroughs,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42then head east to the 19th-century haven of Garden City,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47before continuing on the Long Island Railroad to the Gold Coast.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50From there, I'll cross the island to The Hamptons.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54My final stop will be the island's most easterly tip, Montauk.
0:02:56 > 0:02:57Along the way,
0:02:57 > 0:03:02I'll see how tourists following my guidebook enjoyed heady views.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04People felt like they were just flying with the birds
0:03:04 > 0:03:07walking across this bridge.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11I'll witness how America's biggest infrastructure project
0:03:11 > 0:03:14is reshaping both Manhattan and Long Island.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15You were literally blasting?
0:03:15 > 0:03:19- We were literally blasting.- Wow. And their martinis didn't even shake?
0:03:19 > 0:03:23There was enough that James Bond would have liked it.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28I'll relive the fun and decadence of the Roaring Twenties...
0:03:28 > 0:03:30CHARLESTON PLAYS
0:03:36 > 0:03:39..and discover the legacy of a lighthouse.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41It gives us a warm feeling,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44because this was the first sign of America for immigrants.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56"Brooklyn," says Appletons',
0:03:56 > 0:03:59"is the third largest city in the United States."
0:03:59 > 0:04:02That's before it was absorbed into New York
0:04:02 > 0:04:05to become one of the conurbation's five boroughs.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10But, if it were independent and on its own today, it would still
0:04:10 > 0:04:14rank alongside all but the very largest cities on earth.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21By the 1860s, Brooklyn's population had swollen,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24with huge numbers of immigrants from Europe.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Industry and commerce were booming.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Around a third of Brooklyn's working population commuted across
0:04:32 > 0:04:35the East River to Manhattan,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and ferries were reaching capacity.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40A long-term solution was needed.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And, in 1865, plans were put forward to build
0:04:43 > 0:04:46a permanent link between the two cities.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52The Brooklyn Bridge was under construction when
0:04:52 > 0:04:56my Appletons' was published and it remarks that the massive towers
0:04:56 > 0:05:00on ponderous cables are "conspicuous objects."
0:05:00 > 0:05:04"The distance across the river is nearly 1,600 feet,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07"affording space for two railroad tracks,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09"four wagonways, and two footpaths."
0:05:09 > 0:05:11With those colossal towers
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and being the first steel suspension bridge in the world,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17it was soon known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It's easy to see why.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29The bridge, with its elegant steel cabling, suspended against
0:05:29 > 0:05:34the 19th-century skyline, was an historic engineering achievement.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40I'm meeting Brooklyn-born historian and tour guide, Seth Cunnell,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42under the now-iconic structure.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- Hello, Seth.- Michael, good to see you. Welcome to Brooklyn.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Thank you very much. And what a very beautiful bridge.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53What were the challenges in building it?
0:05:53 > 0:05:55The challenges were numerous.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57There were financial challenges,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00the fact the bridge cost more than 12 million.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Technically, no-one had ever built a suspension bridge
0:06:04 > 0:06:07with a centre span of 1,600 feet.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11This is doubling anything that had come before it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13It's built, I think, with granite towers.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15How does it work beneath the water?
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Beneath the water are wooden caissons,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21which are extremely large boxes flipped upside down,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23about 100 feet by roughly 70 feet.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Floated into place, sunk into the sand, they pumped out the air,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33sent workers inside to dig from inside to lower them while
0:06:33 > 0:06:36they built the granite towers upwards at the same time.
0:06:37 > 0:06:44A workforce of 600 built the bridge over 14 years, starting in 1869.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49The designer was John Augustus Roebling,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52a German immigrant living in Pennsylvania.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57Then 61 years old, he was a pioneer of suspension bridges.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02But, while he was surveying the site,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Roebling's foot was crushed by a boat coming into dock.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Tetanus set in.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10And, three weeks later, he died.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14His son, Washington Roebling,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17took over the project and saw his father's bridge as far
0:07:17 > 0:07:21as he could go, until he, too, was crippled in the process.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25With John dead and Washington crippled, who took over the work?
0:07:25 > 0:07:30Washington's wife, Emily Warren Roebling, finishes the bridge.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33In those days, a woman?
0:07:33 > 0:07:34It's unbelievable.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37This is nearly 50 years before an American woman has the vote.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41And she begins by simply running messages from the office
0:07:41 > 0:07:43in Brooklyn Heights to the job site.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47But she's so intelligent and begins to understand the process
0:07:47 > 0:07:51so quickly, that she's able to make decisions on her own.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56'Construction was dangerous and two dozen workers lost their lives.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01'But on May the 24th, 1883, the great East River was spanned.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05'The brilliant design and scale of this piece of engineering
0:08:05 > 0:08:08'expressed America's growing self-confidence.'
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It was spectacular.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13You had Emily Warren Roebling leading the procession,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15the president of the United States,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18the mayors of Brooklyn and Manhattan meeting and shaking hands,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21a magnificent fireworks display at sundown.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24It was incredible and memorable for decades.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27The day it opened,
0:08:27 > 0:08:33150,000 pedestrians and 1,800 vehicles crossed the bridge.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Within months, passengers on cable cars were crossing
0:08:38 > 0:08:39for a five-cent fare.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44There are no aeroplanes, there are no tall buildings.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47People felt like they were just flying with the birds
0:08:47 > 0:08:49walking across this bridge.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52It's been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. What do you say?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55I live here and I think it should be the FIRST wonder of the world.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57But I'll accept eighth.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09While Brooklyn led the world with its sky-high engineering,
0:09:09 > 0:09:14underground train travel, which began in London in 1863,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16reached New York City only in 1904.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23The New York transit Museum is
0:09:23 > 0:09:26a short walk south from the end of the bridge.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Polly Desjarlais can tell me about the history of the subway.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37What a very enviable transport museum this is.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- I take it it's a disused subway station.- It is.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44It's a decommissioned subway station built in 1936 and then
0:09:44 > 0:09:47decommissioned in 1946.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50How, why, and when did New York decide that it needed
0:09:50 > 0:09:52an underground railway?
0:09:52 > 0:09:55New York had been talking about underground railway since
0:09:55 > 0:09:57London built their Underground.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00But we went above the ground before we went below the ground, really,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and elevator trains were the first form of rapid transportation here.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07When New York eventually did go underground,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09did it copy the example of London?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Actually, the chief engineer who spent quite
0:10:12 > 0:10:14a long time in London, decided to do the opposite.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18He said, "Let's be shallow. That'll be much nicer for the passengers."
0:10:21 > 0:10:24So, the earliest railways in New York, actually like the earliest
0:10:24 > 0:10:27ones in London, were cut and cover, where they went along avenues,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29making a groove, and then covered over the top.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Yeah, cut and cover was how they built most of the first subway line.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34What about getting under the rivers?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- They must have used deeper tunnels for that.- Yes, they did.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42The workers that did the under river tunnelling were called sandhogs.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46'The sandhogs were the unsung heroes of turn of the century
0:10:46 > 0:10:48'New York City.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50'These now legendary urban miners
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'were predominantly immigrant labourers,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57'who dug and blasted through sand and rock to build the bridges and
0:10:57 > 0:11:03'tunnels, sewers and subways, that are the icons of the city today.'
0:11:03 > 0:11:07There's one particular sandhog who stands out above all the rest,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10an English miner by the name of Marshall Mabey who came
0:11:10 > 0:11:12to New York in 1913.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16He was tunnelling and a crack appeared in front of him.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18"Blow out," he shouts.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Most of the men working behind him
0:11:20 > 0:11:22in the tunnel got back to the airlock.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Unfortunately, Marshall and two other co-workers were out of time
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and the force of the compressed air inside the tunnel that
0:11:29 > 0:11:33they were building forced Marshall and his two workers through
0:11:33 > 0:11:37this crack, through about 20 feet of riverbed,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41through about 25 feet of the East River, and then they were spinning
0:11:41 > 0:11:45around on the top of a water geyser about 25 feet above the river's
0:11:45 > 0:11:49surface, before they fell back and landed in the surface of the river.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- He was dead, of course.- He survived.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54His two co-workers unfortunately did not survive,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58but Marshall survived with only a bruise to his left side of his body.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'New York City's first subway line ran from City Hall,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06'close to the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge,
0:12:06 > 0:12:12'to 145th Street and Broadway, nine miles uptown in Harlem.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:14When did the subway system reach Brooklyn?
0:12:14 > 0:12:16The subway system reached Brooklyn...
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Trains started to run underneath Brooklyn in 1915,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and we are standing on what would have been one of the very first
0:12:23 > 0:12:25subway trains to have run in Brooklyn.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27And were they hygienic?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I've just spotted that notice that says you mustn't spit on the floor
0:12:30 > 0:12:33of the car, and, if you do, you get a year in prison.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- A year in prison!- I know. It was a tough fine.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38They were very concerned about becoming places where people
0:12:38 > 0:12:43got sick, and when tuberculosis was running rife,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46they were very concerned about that, so they offered heavy,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49heavy penalties if you were caught spitting on a subway train.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52And I feel rather nostalgic for this sort of car.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Am I wrong to be nostalgic?
0:12:54 > 0:12:59No. Everybody that gets onto our old train cars are definitely nostalgic.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01People often think that they're more comfortable
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and more attractive than the trains that we ride on today.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07But I don't think they would stand up to the wear and tear
0:13:07 > 0:13:10of 5 million rides a day.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17The completion of the bridge and Brooklyn's rail links brought
0:13:17 > 0:13:20even more immigrants to the borough,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24which, in 1898, had been incorporated into New York City.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Immigrants from northern, eastern and southern Europe made up
0:13:29 > 0:13:33around a third of the newly amalgamated city.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Italians were one of the largest groups to settle in Brooklyn,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41and their influence has left a lasting culinary mark that
0:13:41 > 0:13:43I'm keen to experience.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Good evening, sir. How are you?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I'm very well indeed. Very well. I was thinking of having a pizza.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54I think you mean a pie.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59- A pie?- Yes.- OK. Can I have just a piece or two of pie?
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- Well, I think you mean a slice. - A slice?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Divided by a common language, eh?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07OK. I think I'll have a margarita pie.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09You mean a pizza?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- Do I? I give up.- I'm just kidding. It's a pie.- Thank you.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13You're welcome. Coming right up.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25A slice of pie
0:14:25 > 0:14:28is infinitely superior to a piece of pizza.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47It's a new day and I'm heading to a bend on the East River
0:14:47 > 0:14:49called Wallabout Bay,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53where my guidebook tells me I will find the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05According to Appletons',
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"The United States Navy Yard in Brooklyn
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"is the chief naval station of the Republic.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15"It covers about 45 acres. Representative vessels of every
0:15:15 > 0:15:20"kind used in our Navy may be seen at the yard."
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Many of the great warships in US naval history were Brooklyn lines.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'A short walk takes me to the 300 acre site,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37'which is now an industrial park,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41'but most of the yard's heritage remains.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45'Eileen Shumard is custodian of the yard's history and can
0:15:45 > 0:15:48'help me to understand just how important shipbuilding here
0:15:48 > 0:15:51'has been to the United States' Navy.'
0:15:51 > 0:15:54I guess we can just about see it through the rain.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I mean, this is obviously a very important part of history
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- we're looking at here. - For sure. This is dry dock 1.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02It is the oldest continually operating dry dock in the country.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04It's a New York City landmark.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07It was constructed here between 1836 and 1851 and, amazingly,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09it's still in use.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Who was it who established the Navy Yard here in Brooklyn?
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The Navy Yard was one of the first five naval shipyards
0:16:15 > 0:16:19established by President John Adams at the end of his presidency,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22when we were a young nation looking to the future and thinking
0:16:22 > 0:16:26about our defence and our need to protect our commercial interests
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and the private shipyards that we had just weren't going to cut it.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32We needed that sort of federal backing to create what we needed.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Protect your commercial interests against the British?
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Well, I mean, I wouldn't... Maybe.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43And so these shipyards have been here since the beginning of
0:16:43 > 0:16:44the 19th century.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47So, around the time of my Appletons' guide, late 19th century,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49what would the scene have been like here?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51What kind of ships were you building?
0:16:51 > 0:16:53It's a really interesting time, actually,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56because, in the 1870s, we've seen a dip in employment,
0:16:56 > 0:16:57a dip in activity,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and we're in-between the Civil War and we haven't quite gotten
0:17:00 > 0:17:03to World War I, but in the Civil War there's this dramatic shift from
0:17:03 > 0:17:07centres and centres of wooden shipbuilding to ironclads,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and that kind of technology changed naval warfare forever.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14And, at the same time, we were kind of slow on it.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17By the 1880s, we really started making armoured cruisers and
0:17:17 > 0:17:20battleships that are constructed of steel and we really catch up
0:17:20 > 0:17:22in a major way.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Some of America's most historic naval vessels were built here,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30including, in 1855, the Niagara,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34the ship which laid the first successful transatlantic cable,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and the ill-fated USS Maine,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42which exploded in Havana harbour in 1898, sparking war with Spain.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48In World War II, this really was an extraordinarily important place.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49Why so?
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Absolutely. We were America's premier naval shipyard at that time.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55We're the busiest shipyard. We constructed, for example,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58the USS Arizona, which sparked our engagement in World War II
0:17:58 > 0:18:01when it's bombed in Pearl Harbor, and we constructed the USS Missouri,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04where the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06so we bookend the entire war with ships that
0:18:06 > 0:18:07are constructed here.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10And. during that time period, you have 70,000 men and women who are
0:18:10 > 0:18:12just serving the country through
0:18:12 > 0:18:14just massive, massive production here.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17So, really an enormous contribution to America's war effort
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- is made right here?- Absolutely.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22The federal government
0:18:22 > 0:18:25decommissioned the Navy Yard in 1966.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Some private shipbuilding and repairs continued,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33but it wasn't until the 1990s that the yard's fortunes revived
0:18:33 > 0:18:36as the city began to transform it into a hub
0:18:36 > 0:18:40that now employs 7,000 people in 300 businesses.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46This is a very beautiful distillery.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49What's it got to do with the US Navy?
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Well, this is actually a very historic building.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54This is the former paymaster of the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58so this is where the men would come and line up out in the street
0:18:58 > 0:19:00to get their cheques and go out in the neighbourhood,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03but the reason I brought you here is because there's really
0:19:03 > 0:19:06a brilliant story, which is related to your time period
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and your travel guide called the Whiskey Wars.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12So, that refers to a time period here in the late 1860s,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15early 1870s. You're having immigrants from around the world
0:19:15 > 0:19:18that are being drawn to the Navy Yard and not just the Navy Yard,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20all the different types of industries and factories
0:19:20 > 0:19:23and warehouses and ironworks that are all along New York City
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and supporting all this commerce and industry.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And they've established a neighbourhood right outside
0:19:28 > 0:19:30the Navy Yard, right outside the gates, called Vinegar Hill,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32which is also called Irishtown,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and so they brought their traditions of whiskey distilling over
0:19:34 > 0:19:38with them, but they are distilling illegally out in the neighbourhood,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40and so the marines that are located at the yard
0:19:40 > 0:19:43at that time are often dispatched to go out there and break up
0:19:43 > 0:19:45their stills and flow that whiskey
0:19:45 > 0:19:49as a river into the streets and never consume a drop for themselves,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I assume, and so it's a real beautiful irony that today
0:19:52 > 0:19:54this building is home to Kings County Distillery.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00In this building, in what was a century ago the distillery
0:20:00 > 0:20:04district of New York City, Colin Spoelman is using traditional
0:20:04 > 0:20:08copper stills and wooden fermenters to produce the kind of whiskey
0:20:08 > 0:20:11that the US government tried in vain to stamp out during
0:20:11 > 0:20:15the prohibition era of the early 20th century.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19How do you do? Good to see you.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22So, are you making traditional whiskeys?
0:20:22 > 0:20:26So, what we have here is a moonshine. It's an un-aged whiskey.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Whiskey before it goes into the barrel.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Moonshine traditionally was illegal.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34What was the difference between moonshine and regular whiskey?
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Well, if you were making moonshine, you didn't have time to age it
0:20:37 > 0:20:39in a barrel and you wanted to get it to the customer
0:20:39 > 0:20:42as quickly as possible. So, that is this style of whiskey,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45which has more or less been forgotten for 100 years,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48is experiencing a little bit of a resurgence as
0:20:48 > 0:20:51people kind of discover this much older style of whiskey.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And, of course, the most obvious visual difference is that
0:20:55 > 0:20:58it's clear, not browned, but why the difference?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00So, when it goes in the barrel, it picks up sugars and
0:21:00 > 0:21:03caramelised sugars that give it sort of spice and colour.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I'm just wondering...
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Whoo!
0:21:09 > 0:21:11- ..could we have a little taste? - Sure, sure.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19- I hope you'll join me. I'll feel very lonely if you don't.- All right.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21- I think I'll abstain. - You'll abstain.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Got a very powerful nose.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28It's reminding me, you know those Italian liqueurs you get when
0:21:28 > 0:21:30you're on holiday called grappa.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32- It's kind of reminding me of that a bit.- Yeah.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35A lot of people compare it to Silver Tequila, or grappa,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- which are other pot distilled whiskeys.- Here we go.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- Ooh, your good health, I should have said.- Cheers.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Ah!
0:21:48 > 0:21:50That is fierce. Oh!
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- You'd fight a war after you drank that.- Yeah!
0:22:04 > 0:22:08With a fire in my belly, I'm boarding the F train again
0:22:08 > 0:22:12to the seaside of the southernmost tip of Brooklyn.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Appletons' tells me that Coney Island is the most popular of
0:22:19 > 0:22:21all resorts near New York
0:22:21 > 0:22:23and lies just outside the entrance to New York Bay,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27about 10 miles from the city by water, and consists of
0:22:27 > 0:22:29a very narrow island, 4.5 miles long,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32with a hard, gently sloping beach,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35affording unsurpassed facilities for sea bathing.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I'm meeting local guide Michael Wynne
0:22:40 > 0:22:43on the resort's famous Boardwalk.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50Michael, when did Coney Island and the surrounds become a resort?
0:22:50 > 0:22:54It dates back to 1829, when the Coney Island House opened up.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56It was the first hotel in Coney Island.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Such notable people such as Edgar Allan Poe,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03you had people such as the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Walt Whitman, would check in,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08and he would spew Homer and Shakespeare into the surf.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Also, Herman Melville would spend some time here
0:23:11 > 0:23:14at Coney Island's first hotel, the Coney Island House.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18'By the 1870s,
0:23:18 > 0:23:23'steam locomotives were bringing up to 30,000 holiday-makers on
0:23:23 > 0:23:25'four railroad lines to the island
0:23:25 > 0:23:28'at weekends during the summer months.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30'And, after 1915,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'when the subway line opened across the Brooklyn Bridge, thousands
0:23:34 > 0:23:39'of day-trippers used it to escape the squalor of Manhattan tenements.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42'Coney Island was entering its heyday.'
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Appletons' talks about Brighton beach and Manhattan beach
0:23:44 > 0:23:47being for the better class of people,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50but I think Coney Island eventually opened up to all classes, didn't it?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Oh, absolutely. All along the strip here.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55This area we're walking right now is considered West Brighton,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58so it was more middle-class. The western end was Norton's Point,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01where you had a little more of a rough-and-tumble crowd.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03And, further out on the eastern end,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Manhattan beach and Brighton beach, it was a more affluent area.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09How rough did it get?
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Often on the western end,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14sometimes dead bodies would be found on the beach.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Prostitution, gambling.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20And when do we get things like the Boardwalk, and the iconic
0:24:20 > 0:24:24rollercoasters, and the parachute jump, and so on?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Well, you know, this truly is the birthplace of the amusement
0:24:27 > 0:24:31industry and the rollercoaster itself debuted here in 1884.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33A man by the name of LaMarcus Thompson
0:24:33 > 0:24:35invented the first rollercoaster
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and was inspired by the coal-mining tracks in Pennsylvania.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Give me an idea of how big and important resort
0:24:43 > 0:24:44this was in its heyday.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Oh, you know, if modern-day Dubai and Las Vegas had a child,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51it would have looked like Coney Island in 1904.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54It completely was the most extravagant playground in the world
0:24:54 > 0:24:58and probably the number one vacation spot in Western civilisation
0:24:58 > 0:25:01during the turn of the 20th century.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06'Between 1880 and the Second World War, Coney Island was
0:25:06 > 0:25:11'America's playground, the largest amusement area in the United States,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'with three rival entertainment parks
0:25:14 > 0:25:16'attracting millions of visitors.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'And, like those holiday-makers before me,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22'I've worked up an appetite.'
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- Hello, there.- Hello. Welcome to Nathan's.- Thank you very much.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29May I have an original hot dog, please?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- You'd like a Nathan's original hot dog?- Yes, please.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- I'll get you one of them now. - Thank you very much.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- Original Nathan's hot dog. - Thank you very much indeed.- OK.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45So, I saw outside your building that the business is 100 years old.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49- Yes, we've been here since 1916. - How did it start?
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Well, it started with a couple.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54They were Polish immigrants and they started Nathan's on
0:25:54 > 0:25:58a very small stand in this building.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01And they started selling hot dogs at five cents.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03So, without giving away secrets, what makes a really good hot dog?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Well, what makes a really good hot dog and what really makes
0:26:06 > 0:26:08our hot dog special is that it's all beef,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12and it has a secret spice formula, which I can't reveal to you,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14but it gives it a certain flavour,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and we bring it to a certain temperature where all that
0:26:16 > 0:26:21flavour kind of explodes and mixes with that beef and that's
0:26:21 > 0:26:22how you get a Nathan's hot dog.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25You certainly know how to sell a hot dog, I must give you that.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Well, we've been selling it for a while. We've been here a while,
0:26:28 > 0:26:29- so I know about it.- Now, I gather
0:26:29 > 0:26:31some people eat rather large numbers at a go.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34You've got some sort of contest that goes on?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Yes, we have the famous Nathan's famous international hot dog
0:26:37 > 0:26:40eating contest on July 4th, Independence Day.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43We do it right here on the side of the restaurant.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- We have about 40,000 people watch the contest.- No.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52Yes. You have to eat the hot dog and the roll.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54And you have to do that within ten minutes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56And, so, what was the result last July 4th?
0:26:56 > 0:27:00The winner, he ate 62 hot dogs and rolls,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and you've just got to eat one to really get the feel for it.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07So, last July 4th,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10maybe in celebration of America's independence
0:27:10 > 0:27:14from the United Kingdom, a man ate 62 hot dogs.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18I'm going to see now how long it takes me to eat one.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50So that man ate six hot dogs every minute for ten minutes,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and it just took me three minutes to eat one.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55I guess I'm not an all-American guy.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Coney Island began to decline during the Great Depression of the 1930s,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09but some of the attractions from its heyday remain,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13including the Wonder Wheel, which opened in 1920.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16It belongs today to Dennis Vourderis.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22- You must be Dennis.- And you must be Michael.- That is very true.- Yeah.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Dennis, the Wonder Wheel is one of the iconic sites of Coney Island.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28How old is it?
0:28:28 > 0:28:30The Wonder Wheel is 95 years old this year.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34It screams Coney Island. It's all about Coney Island.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36But the main attraction of the Wonder Wheel is the fact
0:28:36 > 0:28:41that 16 of its vehicles swing back and forth on tracks.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43That's what makes the Wonder Wheel unique.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45How did it pass into your family?
0:28:45 > 0:28:48My father was always interested in purchasing the Wonder Wheel
0:28:48 > 0:28:52ever since he visited Coney Island in the early '40s.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56He was then a hot dog vendor in Manhattan with a pushcart.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58And my mother was as well.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01They met selling hot dogs on opposite corners and my dad
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and her used to come to the beach all the time and
0:29:03 > 0:29:06he said to her one day, he says, "You know,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08"you stick it out with me, I'm going to own that wheel.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11"And you're going to be my wife and that's going to be your gift,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14"your wedding ring, your engagement ring, your wedding ring,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17"all in one, to symbolise my unending love for you."
0:29:17 > 0:29:19And so it came to be?
0:29:19 > 0:29:20So it came to be.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23In 1983, my parents wound up buying that wheel.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26It was quite a remarkable story.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30- His life came full circle at that point.- Full circle.- Yeah.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34- No pun intended.- It's a very American story, isn't it?
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Well, it is. It's definitely an American dream come true, for sure.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51As the sun begins to set over Coney Island, I shall finish my day
0:29:51 > 0:29:53with sand beneath my toes.
0:30:09 > 0:30:10It's a new day
0:30:10 > 0:30:14and I'm continuing my journey east through Long Island.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Using the Long Island Rail Road,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21I'll head from Queens to Garden City,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23turn northeast to the Gold Coast,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27then cross the island to take in The Hamptons.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31I'll finish at Long Island's most easterly tip, Montauk.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Before the tunnels were built to Manhattan Island in 1910,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Queens was the terminus of the railroad,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40and passengers crossed by ferry.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45After the first branch of the Long Island Rail Road was opened
0:30:45 > 0:30:51in 1836, the mainly rural island was quickly developed with suburbs.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55Today, it's the busiest commuter railroad in America
0:30:55 > 0:30:57with over 700 miles of track.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01It's also the site of an ambitious engineering project
0:31:01 > 0:31:05that will transform New York City's rail network.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12By one of the oddities of railroad history,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14many commuters who come from Long Island,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17which lies to the east of Manhattan,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21have to cross all the way across the island to almost the west side,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24to Pennsylvania Central Station,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and, then, if their jobs are in the business district
0:31:26 > 0:31:28back on the east side,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31they have to make a subway journey, wasting time and money every day.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34The solution, then, is to put a station
0:31:34 > 0:31:36on the east side of Manhattan -
0:31:36 > 0:31:39in fact, deep under Grand Central Terminal.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43But that project involves creating a new terminal with eight tracks
0:31:43 > 0:31:45and building 11 miles of tunnel
0:31:45 > 0:31:49and absolutely turning the system upside down.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53It's said to be the biggest project in the United States right now.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Dr Michael Horodniceanu is the chief engineer
0:31:59 > 0:32:02at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
0:32:02 > 0:32:04and the man responsible for delivering
0:32:04 > 0:32:06the East Side Access scheme.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Michael, you are in charge of the biggest construction project
0:32:11 > 0:32:14in the United States today. What do you feel about that?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Well, humbled...by the experience,
0:32:17 > 0:32:19and lucky to be able to do that.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Michael is taking me to survey the ongoing works.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- Hello. You must be Chris.- Yes, I am. - How are you? I'm Michael.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39- Good to see.- Pleasure.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46So, right here, basically Tunnel D will come out to the right.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49B, C will be built right here in the middle.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51So, you'll come out of the ground right here,
0:32:51 > 0:32:53and there you're going to see Tunnel A,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55which will be on the north side.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00'Four new tunnels will run from Queens on Long Island
0:33:00 > 0:33:03'straight to New York's railway cathedral,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05'Grand Central Terminal,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08'opening access to the east side of Manhattan.'
0:33:10 > 0:33:13What benefit will the commuters see when it's all over?
0:33:13 > 0:33:16The commuters from Long Island will see
0:33:16 > 0:33:20a reduction in travel time of up to 40 minutes per day.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24And they will have a direct shot without having to transfer
0:33:24 > 0:33:25into Grand Central.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30The great thing about the construction of the terminal
0:33:30 > 0:33:33is that no-one knew that we were there.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36We've blasted away these huge caverns and people upstairs
0:33:36 > 0:33:38were sipping wine in a restaurant
0:33:38 > 0:33:41and they never knew they were down there.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43- You were literally blasting? - We were literally blasting.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46- Wow. And their Martinis didn't even shake.- No.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49There was enough that James Bond would have liked it.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51THEY LAUGH
0:33:53 > 0:33:56'The extension is due to open in 2023
0:33:56 > 0:34:00'and is projected to cost around 10 billion.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04'It will transform the working lives of millions of New York commuters.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08'It's another example of how the city's infrastructure
0:34:08 > 0:34:11'is being revitalised after 9/11.'
0:34:11 > 0:34:13It represents a kind of a renaissance for New York,
0:34:13 > 0:34:14- doesn't it?- Yes, it does.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Without public transport, cities like New York,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20cities like London...cannot exist.
0:34:20 > 0:34:21And that's something...
0:34:21 > 0:34:25I've been in London and I've seen the work being done there.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28And we're trying to keep up with you guys.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32That's a very flattering way of putting it. I'm impressed by this.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45As New York City grew wealthy, many of its more prosperous citizens
0:34:45 > 0:34:48took advantage of improving transport links
0:34:48 > 0:34:52to leave its crowded confines for the leafier outskirts.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Long Island's population swelled with commuters
0:34:55 > 0:34:58and they needed homes in which to live.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05"Garden City", says Appletons',
0:35:05 > 0:35:08"is the residents' city built by AT Stewart
0:35:08 > 0:35:11"as a sort of model for suburban homes."
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Here's an opportunity to see how one visionary idealist
0:35:15 > 0:35:18envisaged the ideal life.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Alexander Turney Stewart was an Irish immigrant
0:35:25 > 0:35:27who built a retail empire.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30He opened the first American department store in Manhattan
0:35:30 > 0:35:35in 1848 and became one of the richest men in America.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40In 1869, when he was 66 years old,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43he bought a 12-mile stretch of land on Long Island
0:35:43 > 0:35:48where he planned to build a model town for his employees.
0:35:48 > 0:35:49He called it Garden City.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04Suzanne Alvey is Garden City's Assistant Village Historian.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08She's invited me to tea in the beautiful Apostle House
0:36:08 > 0:36:12built during Stewart's lifetime with middle managers in mind.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14It's now a museum.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21What put him in mind of creating a model city or village?
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Well, one of the reasons why
0:36:24 > 0:36:28was because he had two children who died very young.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31So he needed something else to do with his life.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34There was attractive land available in the middle of Long Island
0:36:34 > 0:36:36called the Hempstead Plains
0:36:36 > 0:36:38that was not being used for anything.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40It was rather abandoned at that point.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45So he decided to buy the property at 55 an acre
0:36:45 > 0:36:50and told everybody how he was going to build this model town.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54And everybody thought he was crazy. They called it Stewart's Folly.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59But, as it turns out, he had his architect John Kellum
0:36:59 > 0:37:01and they laid everything out,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04and, within a very, very short period of time,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06he had quite a few buildings done.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11'Stewart transformed the barren plains,
0:37:11 > 0:37:14'building all that a town could require.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17'His Garden City boasted 60 spacious home
0:37:17 > 0:37:19'on wide, tree-lined avenues,
0:37:19 > 0:37:20'a handsome hotel
0:37:20 > 0:37:22'and a 30-acre park.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25'He built a waterworks and a gasworks,
0:37:25 > 0:37:26'and a railroad line -
0:37:26 > 0:37:29'the Central Railroad of Long Island -
0:37:29 > 0:37:32'to ferry residents to work in New York City.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35'But not everything went to plan.'
0:37:36 > 0:37:40So, I'm imagining this thriving community that he established,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43and the first train arriving, and the commuters pouring on to it.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47- Is that how it was?- No, I wouldn't say it was too crowded.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51It only had about seven people who commuted from here,
0:37:51 > 0:37:55because nobody wanted to rent these houses that he built,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57so, until he offered them for sale,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00we didn't have a very big population.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06'Six years after he began his grand project,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09'Garden City remained little more than a shell,
0:38:09 > 0:38:14'and, in 1876, Stewart died at the age of 72.'
0:38:18 > 0:38:23- So, did he not really see his dream fulfilled?- He saw enough of it.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26I think he knew it was going to be a success,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29but the one who really got it on the map
0:38:29 > 0:38:32was his wife, Cornelia Clinch Stewart.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36'Cornelia persuaded the Episcopal diocese of Long Island
0:38:36 > 0:38:41'to move out of Brooklyn and make Garden City its new base.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45'She did it by promising to build and endow a cathedral,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48'two schools and a residence for the bishop.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52'The cathedral was to be a memorial to her husband.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55'Garden City became America's first cathedral town.'
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Would the Stewarts recognise the Garden City of today?
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Em...I would say probably not.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05Obviously first because of the cars,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and they'd be amazed that it was so crowded.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13We have about 22,000 people now, up from a very few back then.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14But I think they would appreciate
0:39:14 > 0:39:18how we still have a number of homes that are still in existence,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21and we also try to keep in mind the idea
0:39:21 > 0:39:23of a planned community, like he had.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37During the 19th century, trains increased the prosperity
0:39:37 > 0:39:39of Long Island's workers,
0:39:39 > 0:39:42shuttling daily to and from New York City.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45But the railroads created fortunes
0:39:45 > 0:39:48beyond the comprehension of ordinary commuters.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54You might think that the Gold Coast is in Australia,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57but there's one here on Long Island -
0:39:57 > 0:39:59of course, not where gold was discovered,
0:39:59 > 0:40:04but where enormous wealth was displayed, flaunted,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06squandered.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12From Queens, it's a journey of just over an hour northeast
0:40:12 > 0:40:14to Cold Spring Harbor -
0:40:14 > 0:40:17the nearest station to Oheka Castle.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Ha-ha! This is Oheka Castle!
0:40:33 > 0:40:37Unbelievably big for what was once a private residence.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39It has the look of a French chateaux,
0:40:39 > 0:40:45but it's built on the foundations of a solid American fortune.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47'Completed in 1919
0:40:47 > 0:40:52'and costing the equivalent of 110 million in today's money,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54'the castle was the private home
0:40:54 > 0:40:57'of banker and rail magnate Otto Kahn.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00'At the time, it was the second-largest residence
0:41:00 > 0:41:02'in the entire United States,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06'bettered only by George Vanderbilt's Biltmore House
0:41:06 > 0:41:07'in North Carolina.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11'Today, Oheka Castle is a hotel,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15'and historian Paul Mateyunas is taking me on a tour
0:41:15 > 0:41:17'of these once exclusive grounds.'
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Paul, I believe this part of Long Island
0:41:19 > 0:41:22was known as the Gold Coast. Why so?
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Yes, well, after the Industrial Revolution,
0:41:24 > 0:41:26American families living in New York City
0:41:26 > 0:41:28wanted a pastoral country setting,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and so this was really the perfect place
0:41:30 > 0:41:32for them to build their country houses.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34And which names were involved here?
0:41:34 > 0:41:37JP Morgan, Vanderbilt, Roosevelt...
0:41:37 > 0:41:41The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Prince of Wales were all coming here
0:41:41 > 0:41:42for the polo season...
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and staying the summers on Long Island.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47When I think about this era and this place,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50- my thoughts are dominated by the parties.- Sure.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53F Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby in 1924
0:41:53 > 0:41:56may have taken parties to a new level,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58but it really was not an exaggeration
0:41:58 > 0:42:00of what was going on here at the time.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02I imagine the ponds here
0:42:02 > 0:42:04are probably clogged with champagne corks.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05PAUL LAUGHS
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'Like many tycoons of the era,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14'Kahn made much of his fortune in the railroads.'
0:42:15 > 0:42:17This is Otto Kahn.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- Otto Kahn was also known as the figure for Mr Monopoly.- Really?
0:42:22 > 0:42:26- That's correct.- How did he make his money in the railroads?
0:42:26 > 0:42:28He teamed up with great railroad giants of the time
0:42:28 > 0:42:32and he would reorganise the facilities
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and make them more streamlined and more profitable.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Was he a big party-giver?
0:42:37 > 0:42:39He was known for throwing parties.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43There were men like Charlie Chaplin here, Douglas Fairbanks,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47many industrialists of the day, so it was a home always filled...
0:42:47 > 0:42:50And what happened to the home after he died?
0:42:50 > 0:42:53After Otto Kahn passed away in the '30s,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56his wife sold it to the New York Department of Sanitation,
0:42:56 > 0:43:00which renamed it Sanita, and it became the weekend retreat
0:43:00 > 0:43:04and retirement home for the New York City garbage men.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:43:05 > 0:43:09- So, from riches to rags?- Correct.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15'Sensing the ghosts of the bankers and tycoons,
0:43:15 > 0:43:17'and the stars of stage and screen,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19'I decide to relive for a moment
0:43:19 > 0:43:22'the heady decadence of those years
0:43:22 > 0:43:25'by taking to the dance floor.'
0:43:25 > 0:43:29- Hello, Nancy.- Hello, Michael! Welcome.- You look divine.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33- Thank you very much. You look very handsome.- What a beautiful dress.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38- Thank you.- Um... So how does one do the Charleston?- OK.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40So, it's a very easy dance.
0:43:40 > 0:43:41Forward on the left.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43And tap front with the right...
0:43:43 > 0:43:44Right, left.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47Right, right, left, and swing the arms.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Left, forward, right, forward.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53Oh, I think you've got it.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55Cue music.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59FAST JOLLY MUSIC PLAYS
0:44:04 > 0:44:05Maybe it's a little fast.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13'Named after the city of Charleston in South Carolina,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'the dance became one of the musical sensations of the roaring '20s.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28'The mansions of the North Shore once echoed to the Charleston
0:44:28 > 0:44:30'and popping champagne corks.'
0:44:36 > 0:44:37How about this?
0:44:39 > 0:44:41MUSIC STOPS
0:44:41 > 0:44:42THEY LAUGH
0:44:44 > 0:44:46'But...for me, the party's over.'
0:44:53 > 0:44:55On many a bright morning like this,
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Otto Kahn must have surveyed his beautiful gardens and thought,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03"All that hard work amalgamating railroads...
0:45:03 > 0:45:07"Here I stand upon the hill that I made
0:45:07 > 0:45:09"in the castle that I built,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12"and it was all worthwhile."
0:45:16 > 0:45:19The wealthy titans of New York City
0:45:19 > 0:45:22are no longer drawn to the North Shore of Long Island.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25And while the elites of the past
0:45:25 > 0:45:28made their money in industry and infrastructure,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31their counterparts today are the so-called
0:45:31 > 0:45:33'Masters of the Universe' -
0:45:33 > 0:45:36the bankers, traders, and hedge-fund managers
0:45:36 > 0:45:39who prowl the canyons of Wall Street.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Their summer retreat lies some 75 miles southeast
0:45:43 > 0:45:46in the Hamptons.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48"East Hampton," says Appletons',
0:45:48 > 0:45:53"is the quietest of all quiet towns, with quaint, old houses."
0:45:53 > 0:45:57Its Old World charm has seduced many a broker,
0:45:57 > 0:46:01derivatives trader, and venture capitalist.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I may not meet many of them on the Long Island Rail Road,
0:46:04 > 0:46:06but their helicopters are much in evidence.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11East Hampton, and its sister village of Southampton,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14was almost entirely undeveloped
0:46:14 > 0:46:18until the arrival of the railroad in 1895.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22Today, the permanent population of the town is around 21,000,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25but, in summer, that swells to over 70,000.
0:46:30 > 0:46:35East Hampton is extraordinarily clean and tidy. Very well-kept.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Manicured, you might say.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44'I'm meeting Diana of the Ladies' Village Improvement Society,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47'founded in 1895.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50'She's invited me to one of the thrift stores,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53'where they raise funds for the preservation of the town.'
0:46:53 > 0:46:55What brought about the foundation
0:46:55 > 0:46:58of the Ladies' Village Improvement Society?
0:46:58 > 0:47:02Well, one of the issues in the 1890s were unpaved streets.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07And there was a lot of dust any time a cart or the early
0:47:07 > 0:47:12automobiles would drive by. The LVIS felt their mission was to
0:47:12 > 0:47:15sprinkle the streets and to keep the dust down.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Once that was done,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20they started just overall beautifying these East Hampton.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23'Today, as well as preserving East Hampton's history,
0:47:23 > 0:47:28'the LVIS funds student scholarships, including one
0:47:28 > 0:47:33'for a woman over 25 years old returning to higher education.'
0:47:33 > 0:47:35What's it like to live in East Hampton?
0:47:35 > 0:47:36SHE LAUGHS
0:47:36 > 0:47:40Well, it has a little bit of a rollercoaster feel because
0:47:40 > 0:47:43things are nonstop between June and September,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45but then it does quiet down.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48I guess people outside might have the impression of East Hampton
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- as being populated with the wolves of Wall Street.- Right.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53- Now would that be inaccurate?- No.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56It's not inaccurate.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01But I just feel that the Women's Village Improvement Society is about
0:48:01 > 0:48:04as far from the wolves of Wall Street as I can imagine.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Well, I think there's definitely a sense of trying to maintain
0:48:08 > 0:48:13the historical character and the natural beauty, and the LVIS
0:48:13 > 0:48:16is one of those groups that just want to keep it the way it is,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18and that's why they work so hard.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Before the arrival of the Wall Street set,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31East Hampton was home to Jacqueline Bouvier,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35later to become Mrs Kennedy and then Mrs Onassis, and the haunt of
0:48:35 > 0:48:41artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44On the village green, there's an 18th-century house that would
0:48:44 > 0:48:48have been familiar to followers of my Appletons'.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51It's a striking example of colonial architecture and
0:48:51 > 0:48:55has a connection to one of America's first great actors.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Hugh R King looks after the house, which is now a museum.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04This is the most exquisite house. Beautifully preserved.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Tell me about it.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Well, it was preserved because it was bought by the village of
0:49:08 > 0:49:12East Hampton in 1927, and when they bought the house, not only did
0:49:12 > 0:49:15they buy the house, they bought everything in it.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17And, so, we have been able to recreate the house
0:49:17 > 0:49:20just the way it was in 1916.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23But the house, how old is that? It's much, much older.
0:49:23 > 0:49:261720, but you're looking at a 1750 version of the house.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Like, the panelling, that was all put in in 1750.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39'The house is dedicated to John Howard Payne, American actor,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41'playwright, and lyricist.'
0:49:42 > 0:49:44If he had stayed in America,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46he would have been our first great actor in this country.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50John Howard Payne was the first American actor to play Hamlet.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53He was the first American actor to be successful because
0:49:53 > 0:49:58he went to England in 1813 and was successful on the English stage.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01The first American actor to ever do that.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Then he was the first American playwright to have his plays
0:50:04 > 0:50:06done at the Drury Lane and the Covent Garden Theatre.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08- Really?- Yes.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Very, very important literary and dramatic figure,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14who gets lost because of the song. You know, the song.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17'Amid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
0:50:17 > 0:50:20'Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.'
0:50:20 > 0:50:23It came from the pen of John Howard Payne.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26But he only wrote the words, not the music.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30The great English composer Henry Rowley Bishop wrote the music.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Do you know the song was sung during the American Civil War until
0:50:43 > 0:50:48the generals had to finally stop the song from being played at night
0:50:48 > 0:50:51because the men all wanted to go home after they heard it?
0:50:51 > 0:50:55So, I mean, it really plays quite an important part in American history.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Yes.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07'From 1907 until 1927, this house was owned by
0:51:07 > 0:51:09'Mr and Mrs Gustave Buck,
0:51:09 > 0:51:13'who turned it into a shrine to Payne.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17'But there's a decidedly odd twist. Payne himself never lived here.'
0:51:20 > 0:51:23He wasn't born in the house. His grandfather didn't live here.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26His cousin and aunt lived here, OK?
0:51:26 > 0:51:28And his mother and grandmother were born in East Hampton and
0:51:28 > 0:51:31he visited East Hampton. He knew all about East Hampton.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35He just was not born in this house. And the Bucks didn't care.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38- Imagine that. I don't think I do, either.- Good. I hear you.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40I hear you.
0:52:07 > 0:52:1215 miles and two stops further east from the pristine Hamptons,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15the Montauk branch of the Long Island Rail Road
0:52:15 > 0:52:16reaches its terminus.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21"Montauk Point," Appletons' tells me,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24"is the eastern extremity of Long Island.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28"On it is a lighthouse with a powerful revolving light."
0:52:31 > 0:52:34The village of Montauk, which clings limpet-like to the tip of
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Long Island, is popularly nicknamed The End.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45We've reached the end of the line. We've reached the end of the island.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49There's nothing beyond. And so we crawl gently to a halt.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Montauk is a fishing and surfing town.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Like the Hamptons, it's a popular weekend getaway,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02but prides itself on being more rustic than chic.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Its lighthouse, the first built in New York state,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09stands guard over treacherous waters.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Hello.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15For the lighthouse, please.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17One adult. How much is that?
0:53:19 > 0:53:2110?
0:53:22 > 0:53:25'Here we go. Have a good visit, sir.'
0:53:25 > 0:53:26Thank you very much indeed.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36I'm told there are 137 steps to the top of this tower,
0:53:36 > 0:53:41which stands at just over 110 feet.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45The walls are extraordinarily thick. Six feet at the bottom,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48tapering to three feet by the time you get to the top.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56For many years, before immigrants were greeted in New York Harbor
0:53:56 > 0:54:00by the Statue of Liberty with her representation of
0:54:00 > 0:54:05a lamp, they were greeted here at Montauk with a real light.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09And the symbolism would not have been lost on those who came
0:54:09 > 0:54:12from persecution, intimidation,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16and even murder in the dark continent of Europe.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26I've arranged to meet Henry Osmus,
0:54:26 > 0:54:28local historian and author,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31to find out more about the history of the lighthouse.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38Henry, such a beautiful lighthouse.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40What is its importance in history?
0:54:41 > 0:54:47Well, it was...when it was built in 1796, the purpose of it was to
0:54:47 > 0:54:50guide ships safely from England and France to New York City.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53Prior to that being built, there had been
0:54:53 > 0:54:55no lighthouses on Long Island at all,
0:54:55 > 0:54:59so it became very difficult for ships navigating these waters,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03so it came to the ears of President George Washington and
0:55:03 > 0:55:06authorisation was passed to build the lighthouse here.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08- Did it do a good job?- It did.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11Apparently, the number of ships that had mishaps dropped
0:55:11 > 0:55:15dramatically, so this lighthouse did its job very well.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19'For the many new arrivals who hoped to settle in America,
0:55:19 > 0:55:24'this light was the first glimpse of their new home.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28'And if one man's vision had prevailed, Montauk,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30'rather than New York City,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34'might have been where they first set foot in the New World.'
0:55:34 > 0:55:39Now, there was a gentleman named Austin Corbin, who was the president
0:55:39 > 0:55:43of the Long Island Rail Road from the early 1880s until
0:55:43 > 0:55:50the mid-1890s, and he had a dream of creating a port of entry in Montauk
0:55:50 > 0:55:53that was going to be the docking place for transatlantic steamers,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57and they would continue the journey to New York by his railroad line,
0:55:57 > 0:56:01and save about five or six hours in travel time.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04This idea sounded outlandish to some
0:56:04 > 0:56:08but he extended his railroad to Montauk in December of 1895,
0:56:08 > 0:56:12and the first passenger train officially rolled into Montauk
0:56:12 > 0:56:14on December 17th.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17But, only six months after that first train came into Montauk,
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Austin Corbin was dead.
0:56:19 > 0:56:20He was killed in a freak accident.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23And, unfortunately, there was no-one else with the drive,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26the stamina that he had for this project,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29so, officially, by 1900, the idea was considered dead.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33- And the dream? - The dream went with him.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40'Had Austin Corbin's plan succeeded,
0:56:40 > 0:56:44'Montauk would have become one of the world's busiest ports.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49'As it is, it's been left with extraordinary serenity.'
0:56:52 > 0:56:57Americans have often thought of themselves as exceptional.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01The City on the Hill. A new Jerusalem.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04A country with a manifest destiny.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07The perfect natural harbour of New York,
0:57:07 > 0:57:11with the East River protectively flanked by Brooklyn,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14must have seemed like a gift from God.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16And, following that logic,
0:57:16 > 0:57:20the beauty of Long Island's surf and beaches would merely confirm
0:57:20 > 0:57:25the limitless blessings heaped upon this land and its people.
0:57:34 > 0:57:40Next time - I'll be spooked by a famous American ghost story...
0:57:40 > 0:57:47This sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51'..hear a new take on America's greatest turncoat.'
0:57:51 > 0:57:54So, you think that Benedict Arnold was actually an American
0:57:54 > 0:57:57- revolutionary hero? - Absolutely, he was. Absolutely.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59'I'll take a different sort of line.'
0:57:59 > 0:58:01Argh!
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Whoa!
0:58:03 > 0:58:06Argh!
0:58:06 > 0:58:09'And enjoy beautiful mountain scenery
0:58:09 > 0:58:11'from an American iron horse...'
0:58:11 > 0:58:13- Wow.- Take it west.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20'..before tapping into Albany's boozy past.'
0:58:20 > 0:58:22Hey!
0:58:22 > 0:58:26- Wow. That is strong.- Cheers.- Cheers.