MOMENTS IN TIME - Oct. 14, 2010

The History Channel

* On Oct. 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear as a Congressional committee begins investigating Communist influence in Hollywood. Pressured by Congress, the Hollywood establishment started a blacklist policy, banning the work of 325 screenwriters, actors and directors who had not been cleared by the committee.

* On Oct. 21, 1959, on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, thousands of people line up for a debut of a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake, the new Guggenheim Museum.

* On Oct. 22, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Highway Beautification Act, which attempts to limit billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising, as well as junkyards and other unsightly roadside messes, along America’s interstate highways.

* On Oct. 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store opens, in Dallas. At a time when most video stores were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out process.

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.