Review: Preserving South Street Seaport

First, if you’re free today and within travel distance of Lower Manhattan, do yourself a favor and attend this event, 4 p. m., a book signing by Dr. James M. Lindgren.  His new book is a much needed complement to Peter Stanford’s A Dream of Tall Ships, reviewed here a few months ago.   Details in Preserving South Street Seaport cover almost a half century and will enthrall anyone who’s ever volunteered at, donated to, been employed by, or attended any events of South Street Seaport Museum.  Lindgren laments SSSM’s absence of institutional memory saying, “Discontinuity instead defined the Seaport’s administration.”  Amen . .  as a volunteer I wanted to know the historical context for what seemed to me to be museum administrations’ repeated squandering of  hope despite herculean efforts on the part of volunteers and staff I knew.

As my contribution to creation of memory, I offer these photos and I’d ask again for some pooling of photos about the myriad efforts of this museum over the years.

Pier 17.  April 17, 2014.  According to Lindgren, this mall opened on Sept 11, 1985 with a fireworks show.  Its demise may by this week’s end be complete.

April 12, 2014.  Photo by Justin Zizes.

Feb 23, 2014.

Jan 21, 2014 . . . Lettie G. Howard returns.

Sept 20, 2013.  This is the last photo I ever took FROM the upper balcony of Pier 17.

Sept 12, 2013.

July 2012.  A fire had broken out on the pier, and Shark was the first on scene responder.   Damage was minimal, despite appearances here.

Now for some photos of vessels that have docked in the South Street area in the past half century.

July 2012 . . . Helen McAllister departs, assisted by W. O. Decker and McAllister Responder.

June 2012.  Departure of Marion M as seen from house of W. O. Decker.  Photo by Jonathan Boulware.  The last I knew, Marion M is being restored on the Chesapeake by a former SSSM volunteer.

Lettie G. Howard hauled out in 2009.

2009. The Floating Hospital . .  . was never part of the SSSM collection.

2009.  Maj. Gen. Hart aka John A. Lynch aka Harlem.

Helen McAllister with Peking and Wavertree.   Portion of bow of Marion M along Helen‘s starboard.

Mathilda posing with W. O. Decker in Kingston.  2009.

Moshulu now in Philadelphia.

2005, I believe.  Spuyten Duyvil (not a SSSM vessel) and Pioneer.

Thanks to Justin and Jonathan for use of their photos.  All others by Will Van Dorp.  For many stories on these vessels, that mall, and so much more, pick up or download these books and read them asap.

 

 

Sixth Boro Fifth Dimension 6

I’m enjoying this time travel back to the late 70s–early to mid 80s, and I hope you are too.

Foto #1:  Between Yonkers and Hastings, lightship is No. 84, Camden-built 1907, the one that later did bottom duty in Erie Basin, until the Ikea development made it disappear. Can anyone identify the white vessel north of the lightship?

Foto #2.  Today Mathilda rests on the north bank of the Rondout in Kingston, as I photographed her almost exactly five years ago.  I never knew she also crawled out awhile on Pier 94.

Foto #3.  A Moran tug escorts ACL Song through the Newark Bay drawbridge on its way to Port Elizabeth.  Drawbridge and vessel are long gone.  I can’t identify the tug.

Foto #4.  James Turecamo looked like this when she carried Turecamo colors.

Foto #5.  Beside the heavy traffic, do you notice something odd about Empire State V, one of a long list of training vessels assigned to SUNY Maritime?

Foto #6.  Listing perhaps?    On a sandbank near LaGuardia perhaps?  Frances Turecamo holds station to staboard.  I can’t  identify the tug to port.

Foto #7.  Anyone know anything about a sunken lounge/restaurant once known as Drifters I?

All fotos taken by Seth Tane about 30 years ago and used with his permission.