Sixth Boro Fifth Dimension IS3

Here’s another photo shared by Ingrid Staats.  If you’ve been to this blog before, you recognize the bridge, but what are Vega and Altair you might wonder.  The ferries are aptly named, since they are two characters in a Chinese love story, Vega the weaver girl and Altair the cowherd.

Here they operated within the fleet of the Bergen Point Ferry, both built in 1946 and discontinued in 1961. 

The ferries were sold after discontinuation of the service, and both were lost in 1961:  Vega off New Jersey and Altair between Mexico and Cuba deep in the Yucatan Channel.   These are small boats to be going to Mexico:  61′ x 38′ x 8′, but another of the set, Deneb, made it and appeared in the Mexican registry.

To drive along Richmond Terrace these days, you don’t get the same sense crossing Port Richmond Avenue that you would have had 70 or 80 years ago . . .  click on the photo below for a photographic tour of what used to be a crossing into NJ.

I used to have a photo of the sign still hanging near the ferry until quite recently, but when I gallivanted around there a few days ago, it was gone and my photo is as well, victim of one of my misguided cullings to reduce the memory demands on my computer.

In that recent gallivant, I did look along the west side of Port Richmond Avenue at this church and graveyard. 

This is some old NYC history, and

names memorialized in places are reflected here . . . .  Prall’s Island today is uninhabited but known to everyone who travels through the Arthur Kill.

Many thanks to Ingrid for use of the Vega-Altair photo.  More of her photos to come.

And while you’re at the Reformed Church, go another 100 yards inland and check out Nat’s Men’s Shop and buy some warm work clothes.

 

Sixth Boro Movers

. . . I haven’t figured out what the shakers are yet.  But of course, people are the primary movers, even for movers of people like Martha’s Vineyard Express.

There are silt movers like Stuyvesant.

And of course all manner of movers of fluids to be respected like Loya and

Red Hook and

Orange Blossom.

There are movers of boxes like Vega and

Josephine K. Miller, who can do local moves for cargo boxed or bundled or . . .  other.

There could be a category of movers of movers like this and

direct movers and

indirect ones.

Maybe I should spend some time today trying to figure out who the shakers are.  All photos recently by Will Van Dorp, who was being given a tour of traffic in San Francisco Bay and noticed this interesting assemblage of names of movers.

 

Random Tugs 137

McAllister Sisters is back there somewhere, on the windy side,

not the sunny side where crew keep watch on

Atlantic Trader.  If you’ve forgotten what Sisters looks like, click here on a post from over a year ago.

Much more conspicuous is Bruce A.

James Turecamo assists in Vega.

And finishing this post out, it’s Pelham.

Of course, the rooted talent in this post is of course Robbins Reef Light.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.