SHIPS
I've had an interest in ships -- specifically ocean liners -- since the 5th grade. That's when I learned my great-uncle's (future) mother-in-law was a Titanic survivor. She was a 16-year-old Norwegian immigrant, and I'm wondering if she was placed on Titanic because of the coal strike at the time which was shutting down smaller liners. I've an article with a translation of the letter she wrote to family in Norway.
With most things Titanic, you start with Walter Lord's essential read A Night to Remember. It's certainly not the only book, and I anticipate even more to hit the shelves as we approach the centennial of her sinking, but I think it's the most important. He perhaps had access to the greatest number of survivors, and it's simply a gripping read.
That book referenced other liners, so I read up on them. I began to get books through Inter-Library Loan. (And strange looks from the librarian. What the hell's a farm kid in Iowa want with these?) I started my book collection in college, and it's now over 100 carefully selected volumes. After writing Carnival Cruise Lines for information for a high school term paper, I started gathering cruise line brochures. I've no idea how many are in those boxes; hundreds, easily.
One of the first cards in my collection. It's the style where your message
had to go on the front, the address on the back.
These are very interesting books showing the art on board these
fine Italian liners, and the ss France.
I got these for a steal. On the left is part of a blueprint sheet depicting the Upper and A Decks
of American President's President Cleveland and President Wilson. They measure over eight feet long,
dated October 1946, and have red grease pencil marks showing edits. On the right is a sheet of light fixtures
from the Sterling Bronze Company for the United States Lines' Manhattan and Washington, built in 1931.
This is a printer's proof from 1929. It doesn't really fit
in the scope of my collection, but the graphics are amazing!
Here are the proposed profile and renovated Promenade Deck for the ss United States.
Financing issues prevented these changes from happening.
This silver brochure promotes the ss France's last world cruise in 1974.
She was withdrawn from service in October of that year.
ARCHITECTURE
It probably started when I first picked up a wooden block, but I love buildings. I enjoy reading about the architects, the construction process, and I love taking pictures of all the detail work.
One of the last projects I worked on before leaving Kirksville involved some facade work on the Kirksville Arts Center. While interior improvements received notice, what one does to the exterior receives even more. Especially when there's falling debris hitting the sidewalk.
The intent was simply to remove the faded 70's green covering, repair what was underneath, paint it black, and call it a day. It didn't quite end up that way.
You can see the green stuff coming down in the left photo, plus a large hole that would have to be squared up before patching. There's also a crack running horizontally across the entire front. Well, we made an executive decision not to patch, but to rip it all off. That's me taking a whack at it. (No one else was brave enough to go on camera to make the first strike.) The photo on the right shows some of the damage caused by folks a few decades earlier. To put up the mesh before applying the concrete, they simply nailed right into the brick. At some point, these will have to be replaced.
The first half was boarded up the first day, leaving the other half untouched. With the knowledge that the original transom windows were nowhere to be found, we were able to knock out the other half pretty quickly. The goal was to frame out fake transoms. Did I mention we were doing this the week a traveling Smithsonian exhibit was to launch inside? (No pressure.) You'll see some white brick running vertically underneath the concrete. That is original. Some of the enamel coating unfortunately came off, and there are a few nail holes, but for the most part, it's intact.
They recently painted the rest of the green coverings on the front black. I'll post pics when I get them.
I'll also post some more photos of building studies as I come across them. But as I sort through the hundreds of architectural photos I've taken over the years, I'll whet your appetite with the following posts ...
History of the Kirksville Arts Center
Third Floor of the Kirksville Arts Center
You can always go ... Downtown ...
Picker's Famous, Kirksville, MO
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?
Denver Walkabout: Marcus Brothers
(Sheesh, I really need to work on the links between some of these posts.)
You're probably wondering about the inclusion of "sea cruise," but if you think about it, a ship is simply a floating building, and how it looked inside and out, more often than not, determined its success.
