This 1930s photograph grabbed my attention with its jam-packed composition and crisp morning light. Taken from the water, it is a spectacular view of the Colonial Line pier with New York City in the background.
Tell me about it: Is that a bell tower in the foreground part of the pier? What would it have been used for? I would love to hear your thoughts in the Comments area below!
Recently I had the good fortune of being in the Boston area and was able to visit some of our artifacts currently on loan to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Their exhibition, Ocean Liners: Glamour, Speed, and Style is open from now until October 9, after which it will be traveling to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. We loaned them a number of fantastic pieces, including some that are quite large.
In the second room, seen in the picture above, the engineering of these mighty ships was discussed and two of our artifacts were included. The first is the piece hanging from the ceiling, a towing tank model of SS United States. This model was tested in the U.S. Navy’s David W. Taylor Model Basin at Bethesda, Maryland in 1946. The other piece is the cream-colored half model on the wall to the right. It doesn’t look like much in this photo, but it is a 21′ plating model for SS United States, made in 1949.
Two postcards featuring SS United States. The first shows the ship during trials in 1952 while the second shows it leaving Hampton Roads
As always, I am happy to share items that have been returned to us after the theft in the early 2000’s. So enjoy!
The first picture is City of Paris and the second shows City of Rome.
It’s been a while since I’ve reported on the returning stolen pieces, but I am happy to say that they continue to come in. And some people have been extremely kind and sent extra pieces in to help rebuild our collection. Here are some of the pieces have that have come back in the last month.
Photographs of the steamships City of Pueblo (left) and Robert E. Lee (right).
