Last Call + Four Years

Yesterday, I had permission to board the 1905 ferry Binghamton for the first time in almost four years.  I had studied my 2011 photos a little, but the boat is so changed inside that I really should have printed out some 2011 shots to try to replicate them.  That said, it’s so modified that that might not have worked in some cases.  Enjoy.

Shoreside entrance in October 2011

and the same mirror but more context in August 2015.  Preserved or cashed in?

The south end in October 2011

and in August 2015.

The whole vessel in 2011, noting the detail left on the wheelhouses

. . . and  in August 2015.

East side as seen from NYWaterways in 2011,

with a (blurry, sorry) close-up;

and yesterday, August 2015,

with a close-up,showing that someone clearly detached the name board and stowed it on the river side of the wheelhouse.

The top level east side of the bar in 2011, and

2015, showing a more sinuous row of clerestory windows mostly broken.

This is looking southward along the river side lower level and  . . .

same shot from 2011 but cropped closer to the landing and

the same landing in august 2015, with the surveyor showing scale.

 

This is looking northward toward the GW Bridge in 2011, and

and the current less enclosed view.

The rest of the photos just document the current historic ferry as she looked on August 5, 2015.  For comparison, check “Last Call 1, 2, 3 . . .”   and “After Last Call 1  and 2” .

These are the remains of built-in benches, not add-ons.

This is looking northward toward the GW Bridge along the west side and

 

a close-up of decking on that quarter.

 

On the same side this is the passageway once leading to the four-cylinder double-compound reciprocating power plant rated 1,400 horsepower,  and from

from farther southward showing silt left by higher tides.

This is the opposite passageway to the engine on the sunny riverside,

and the same from farther southward.

This is the grand staircase looking southward shoreside

with mirrored ceilings creating a dusty but otherwise Escher-like possibility as go up to the bar.

 

This is the south end of the bar deck looking across the river, and the same

direction as seen from farther northward.

A patron at this bar might be very tired and very merry, but the mixologist prepares no more drinks and this

ferry is definitely out of service.

And we need someone to update Edna.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Click here for some photos of the ferry by Vlad and Johna.   Here’s an almost 20-year-old story about the sad demise of one former owner.