The light fantastic from the porch this morning
The Bunker Hill Bridge in the background, as viewed from the front steps by the dawn's early light this morning, with the 1940's vintage Meridian Street Bridge in the foreground and -- thanks to the magic of foreshortening -- a neo-Georgian pediment from one of the early-19th-century buildings at the Charlestown Navy Yard (just right of center, appearing to be attached to the top of the bridge) in the middleground, two miles across the Inner Harbor. From 1800 to 1974, the Navy Yard built, repaired and outfitted US naval vessels.
Old Ironsides on her yearly turnaround (Charlestown Navy Yard photo)
Today the Yard is a part of The Freedom Trail and hail port of the Navy's flagship, the USS Constitution, Oliver Wendell Holmes's "Old Ironsides":
Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
Dockbound though she is, the magnificent Old Ironsides is tugboated out each summer into the Middle Harbor, dignitaries aboard, for some good old-fashioned municipal PR, with cannon shots, TV helicopter shots and a turnaround so she has opposite sides -- port and starboard -- abutting the dock in alternating years.
Update in the pipeline: Goomp gave us a tantalizing taste of his childhood charitable giving, when the future of Old Ironsides was unsure, and they were selling pieces of rotting wood with attached iron as a fundraising gambit. Didn't have time for details but will update later tomorrow. This is so cool.
Next visit we are going to hit the North End, Old Ironsides and Charlestown. This year we did the museum thing (mostly because of the weather). Thanks for arranging the cooler temps on Sunday. 'preciate it.
Posted by: The Prop | August 24, 2004 at 08:47 PM
My pleasure!
Posted by: Sissy Willis | August 25, 2004 at 05:21 AM