I drink 1000 shipwrecks, tonight I'll steal your paychecks...
Last weekend when the weather broke for a little while (it has been rainy for weeks now it seems), S and I decided to take the bus down to the South Street Seaport Museum since we had both never been there. The seaport was crowded since it was Labor Day weekend and most people seemed to be standing in line for the Bodies exhibit so the museum and ships were fairly empty which was pretty sweet.
Our first stop was the South Street Seaport Museum. The current exhibit is all about the Red Star Line and the cultural environment in turn of the 20th century NYC and Antwerp.
In Antwerp you can still find the original Red Star Line buildings where the emigrants were subjected to the last medical examination prior to departure to America and where they were disinfected and their papers were checked. These three buildings are located alongside Rijnkaai in the Eilandje district of Antwerp and have been vacant for quite some time now, but in the memory of emi-grants and their descendants they continue to function as a beacon. The City of Antwerp will convert them into a place for reflection and remembrance with a modern approach to the notion of emigration. A collaboration has been initiated with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum regarding the project’s scientific and genealogical research. (From the exhibit press release on the museum site)
The actual space the galleries inhabit is impressive.
I love rough, exposed brick in gallery settings.
There were tons of vintage Red Star Line posters. The Red Star Line a passenger ocean line that existed between its founding in 1871 and its amalgamation into the International Mercantile Marine Co. in 1902. The line was a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgium. The company's main ports of call were New York City and Philadelphia in the United States and Antwerp in Belgium. The company was founded by Clement Griscom, who led it from its founding until its merger into the IMM. (Wikipedia. Red Star Line.)
Wash basin from the Red Star Line ship.
Model of the Red Star Line ship.
Lunchtime in Antwerp in 1903.
Lunchtime on the other side here in NY in 1924.
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We wanted to stay and explore more of the Southstreet Seaport Museum galleries but it was close to 5pm and the whole thing was closing at 6pm so we opted to go explore the ships. Included in the $8 admission are 2 full galleries in different areas on the seaport and also 2 ships.
The Peking and the Ambrose were our next destination since we both couldn't wait to explore them. Having grown up going to the seaport and then working near it during my last job, I had always wanted to go on one of those ships. I had no idea that the entrance to both was tied in to the museum admission, so that was a nice surprise.
The Peking was our first stop.
View from the deck of the Peking looking out onto South Street Seaport, Pier 17 and the Ambrose lightship.
There were a lot of interesting and very odd tidbits of historical information regarding the culture onboard the ship(s).
The captain's room. There was also the captain's drinking room and the first ward's room but my photos came out too dark when I tried to get photos of those areas.
Crew room.
The social room.
The view is amazing. There are even places to sit on deck. The best part? Most of the tourists were actually at the Pier and most people I guess did not have tickets to go onboard these ships so we felt like we had it to ourselves.
Brooklyn Bridge and Pier 17 from the deck.
I love the ships against the urban background.
We then went on the Ambrose, a much smaller ship than the Peking. The weather started to change. Dark clouds were rolling in and the water started getting choppy. Since the Ambrose is a small lightship, it tossed with the waves which was pretty surreal. We wobbled off when we were done and kept joking that we still felt like we were on the ship much later :D.
View of the Peking from the Ambrose with the new, dark clouds as a backdrop.
Going into the engine room.
The Water Taxi pulling in.
I then took S up to the upper area of Pier 17 to go look at the Brooklyn Bridge.
I really love the streets down there surrounding that area.
2005 becomes 2006 with a quick Sharpie marker ;)
After a much needed meal at Acme (I cannot get enough of their cornbread), we headed to IFC to see This Film is Not Yet Rated which I highly recommend. A documentary about the ratings system in the US, it was pretty shocking. I don't want to give too much away but it was well done and very eye opening. IFC is also very re-vamped and sexy now which I don't think we were expecting. Hooray for fabulous independent theaters with swank (and free short films before every film to boot)!
Back to work. Is this week over yet?
Current Mood: Gingerbread coffee in the veins
Current Music: Zentriert ins Antlitz - Prozium