The Destruction of Flood Rock at Hell Gate
Poet involved
What happened
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers executed the largest planned explosion in history to that date by detonating nearly 300,000 pounds of explosives to obliterate Flood Rock in New York City, USA. The blast cleared a notorious navigation hazard in the Hell Gate strait of the East River, which had wrecked hundreds of commercial vessels. The explosion was felt as far away as Princeton, New Jersey, and was witnessed by thousands of spectators along the shorelines.
Literary impact
The spectacular engineering event was widely covered in contemporary poetry and newspapers, framed as a sublime demonstration of human technological supremacy over treacherous waters. Walt Whitman and other urban poets of the era captured the awe of a city physically reshaping its maritime borders.
Source: Wikipedia
