Before the buzz of a circular saw ever echoed, America’s greatest homes rose from pure muscle, steam, and ingenuity. Join Ken on This House as we trace every marble block, timber beam, and hand-carved flourish that shaped the Gilded Age’s most jaw-dropping mansions, long before power tools hit the jobsite. From horse-drawn derricks to steam-powered hoists, you’ll see how Victorian craftsmanship achieved feats modern crews still admire.

This video compares the street designs of New York City and Amsterdam. We'll briefly look into both cities' traffic planning history and then explore NYC’s 3rd Avenue and Amsterdam’s Overtoom. See how different design choices at the city and street level create drastically different urban environments.

At the very edge of New York City you’ll find Liebman’s Deli, the last Jewish deli in the Bronx. Open since 1953, Liebman’s has been serving classic Jewish American staples like matzo ball soup, chopped liver, knishes and, most notably, a classic pastrami sandwich that’s become famous across the five boroughs.

Follow along as we meet Yuval Dekel, who took over the deli in 2002 at the age of 26 after the death of his father. Yuval has worked to preserve the techniques and recipes that have kept Liebman’s Deli an institution for Jewish American food in New York. The pastrami sandwich, Yuval’s best-seller at Liebman’s, is all about two fundamentals: simplicity and tradition.