Paul P's Memorial Miles Log

Sunday, October 18, 2009

WTC October 16, 2009

October 16, 2009 site inspection - Memorial area.

Future Memorial Plaza

Paul at the base of north waterfall

Jerry Del. and Mike T

Bob, Anthony and Don

On October 6, 2009 we took a field visit to the Brooklyn Navy Yards to see the National September 11th Memorial Museum waterfall mock-up. It was a beautiful fall day and a great morning to view the mock-up. It was very nice to see the waterfall mock-up and the attention to detail that is going to the project. You really get an idea of how grand and yet solemn the site is going to be!

At the Waterfall Mock-up.

The mock-up is located adjacent to the Old Naval Hospital. Located in front of the Naval Hospital is the Barrier Forte Monument.

About the Brooklyn Navy Yard (BNY): The Brooklyn Navy Yard, once known as America’s premier shipbuilding facility, is today known for so much more. With such diverse businesses as movie studios, furniture manufacturers, ship repairers, architectural designers, electronics distributors and jewelers, the Brooklyn Navy Yard isn’t just filled with a storied past. It's also filled with a promising future.

The History of BNY
1625: Sarah Rapelje, allegedly the first European born in the Nieuw Netherlands colony is delivered on this bay in the area of Brooklyn known by the Lenape Indians as "Rennegachonk".
1637: Walloon Jansen de Rapelje purchases 335 acres of Rennegachonk territory from Dutch West India Trading Company. The land is renamed Waal Boght, from the dutch meaning either “Bend in the River” or “Bay of Walloons”. This later becomes Wallabout Bay.
1776-1783: NEW YORK CITY’S OCCUPATION AT THE TIME OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - As many as 11,000 die on the British prisoner ships moored off Wallabout Bay, the most infamous being the Jersey, where American soldiers, merchants and traders are imprisoned for disobeying the British embargo.1781: John Jackson and his brothers purchase from Cornelius Remsen a parcel of the Rapelje land where they build the area’s original shipyard on the muddy marshlands.
1798: The US Government commissions from Jackson the 28-gun frigate USS Adams. She serves with distinction, sailing to the West Indies during the Quasi-War with France, and later patrolling the East Coast to protect American commerce. Finally, she is burnt by her crew to avoid British capture in the War of 1812.
1806: Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn, US Navy, takes command of the United States Navy Yard at New York, working under verbal orders from the Secretary of the Navy Yard. He is Commandant for one year only, and in 1811 is killed with his crew on John Jacob Astor's Tonquin near Vancouver Island.
1814: Congress allocates funds for the construction of the United States’ first steam-powered warship, the Fulton Steam Frigate, also known as Demologos and Fulton the First. Though her trials prove steam technology sound, the Fulton tours only once around New York Harbor and is then after kept at the Yard as a receiving ship.
1820: The Ohio, first ship constructed at the Yard and put to use, is launched.
1824: The Government purchases from Sarah Schenck the 25 acres of property on which the Naval Hospital now stands.
1837: ADVENT OF STEAM ENGINEERING The first U.S. steam warship assigned to sea duty, the 9-gun side-wheel steamer Fulton II is launched.
1838: MARITIME MEDICINE ADVANCES The Government builds the Naval Hospital.
1841-1843: Matthew C. Perry serves as Yard Commandant.
1857: USS Niagara is launched and soon off to England to lay the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable.
1860-1866: The Yard serves as a key depot for the distribution of stores and supplies to the Union fleet. The Naval Laboratory at the Yard prepares most of the medicines used by the Union Navy during the Civil War.
1862: THE CIVIL WAR IRONCLADS The USS Monitor is outfitted and commissioned (having been built, clad and launched at the Continental Shipyard in Greenpoint) prior to the famous "Battle at Hampton Roads" against the CSS Virginia (ex-Merrimac).
1895: EXPLOSION SPARKS THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR - The launch of the USS Maine begins the "battleship era". Its sinking three years later off Havana Harbor sparks the Spanish-American War. "Remember the Maine!"
1906: The USS Connecticut, built in 1904, is commissioned, and serves as flagship of the Great White Fleet.
1907: Opera singer Eugenia Farrar sings the first song broadcast over wireless radio. “I love you truly” broadcasts to test Dr. Lee DeForest’s arc radiotelephones on the USS Dolphin, docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The test is successful and the Government commissions DeForest to supply the Great White Fleet with 26 of the radiotelephones.
1914-1918: During WWI the Yard workforce increases from 6,000 to 18,000.
1915: The USS Arizona is launched.
1941: CALL TO ARMS - December 7, the Japanese sink the USS Arizona, engaging the United States in WWII.
1944: The USS Missouri is launched.
1945: JAPAN SURRENDERS - September 2, Japan signs its unconditional surrender on the USS Missouri a.k.a. "Mighty Mo", thus ending the war.
1955-1960: Aircraft super carriers USS Saratoga, Constellation and Independence are built here during the Korean War.
1960-1965: Near the end of its days as an active naval base, the Yard builds 6 amphibious transport Landing Platform Docks, the last launched being the LPD Duluth.
1966: BROOKLYN NAVY YARD CLOSES - Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara closes the Brooklyn Navy Yard along with over 90 other military bases and installations. At the time of its closing, the Brooklyn Navy Yard employs more than 9,000 workers and is the oldest continually active industrial plant in New York State.
1967: THE NEW YORK CITY PURCHASE Two hundred and sixty acres of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, housing nearly all of its industrial sites, are sold to the City of New York for $24,000,000.
1971: The Yard is reopened as a City-owned industrial park under the management of a Local Development Corporation called Commerce Labor and Industry in the County of Kings or "CLICK."
2007: A THRIVING INDUSTRIAL PARK - The Brooklyn Navy Yard today operates as a thriving industrial park with over 40 buildings, 230 tenants and 5,000 employees. As it undertakes the Yard’s greatest expansion since WWII, BNYDC is pursuing its mission to create and retain industrial jobs in New York City with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and the celebration of the Yard’s rich history.

Don't forget to visit:
Brooklyn Navy Yard at Building 92
Selected Historic BNY Images available through flickr.com

Friday, October 2, 2009

Total Miles Through September 2009

Total Miles Walked/Run through 09/30/09: 1,012 Miles

In support of the Stephen Siller foundation I ran in Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk. It was a rainy day, but it was a great event!

Linda, Vito, Paul and Vinny on site September 25, 2009 at base of Tower One.

Memorial Miles meet to celebrate 1 year of walking and running for the memory of those lost on September 11, 2001.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Fort Lee Histroric Park

August 31, 2009
Fort Lee Historic Park, Bergen County, NJ

On an August 31, 2009 late in the day Memorial Miler Paul Pietropaolo stopped by the Fort Lee Historic Park and the New Jersey Section of the Palisades Interstate Park in Bergen County to check out the view of the George Washington Bridge and explore this section of the park. While on the shore of the Hudson River, I could see the famous “Little Red Lighthouse” under the George Washington Bridge on the Manhattan side. It is amazing to realize all the history and natural beauty of the area; I have seen a lot of very wonderful things on my Memorial Mile walks and runs!

Palisades Interstate Park New Jersey Section
Located in northeastern Bergen County, New Jersey, a beautiful park that is part of the more than 100,000 acres of parkland's and historic sites managed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The land in the NJ Section was the first that the Commission acquired after its creation in 1900 by the states of New York and New Jersey. The Commission had been formed to prevent the defacement of the famous Palisades of the Hudson by a handful of large stone quarries then in operation.

The NJ Section about 12 miles long and half-a-mile wide at its widest, with 2,500 acres of wild Hudson River shore front and uplands, including some of the most impressive sections of the Palisades.

The Palisades have been designated a National Natural Landmark, the Palisades Interstate Park a National Historic Landmark. Both the Long Path and the Shore Trail have been designated National Recreation Trails.

Fort Lee Historic Park
Fort Lee Historic Park is set on 33 landscaped acres atop the Palisades just south of the George Washington Bridge, with spectacular overlooks of the Hudson, Manhattan, and the George Washington Bridge. There is a Visitor Center and Museum, reconstructed 18th Century soldier hut and campsite, and reconstructed gun batteries.

Fort Lee Historic Park's significance came about during the 1776 British campaign to control New York City and the Hudson River. In July of 1776, work was begun on this site, which was eventually named for General Charles Lee, who aided in the defense of New York City. On the opposite New York shore, work had already begun on Fort Washington.On July 12, Admiral Richard Howe sent two British naval vessels up the Hudson River. Cannon fire from Fort Washington had little effect on their passage. Washington then ordered that work on Fort Lee continue as quickly possible.

On August 22, the British landed on Long Island and five days later forced the Americans to retreat to New York City. Through September and October, the British and American forces were involved in battles at New York City, Harlem Heights, and White Plains. The British then turned their forces against Fort Washington.

On November 16, Fort Washington fell to an overwhelming assault by the British forces, which captured over 2,000 American troops.General Washington, realizing that with the loss of Fort Washington, that Fort Lee was of little military value, made preparations to evacuate his remaining army through New Jersey.

On November 20, General Cornwallis ferried about 5,000 men across the Hudson north of Fort Lee. When word reached Washington, he ordered an immediate retreat before his army was cut off and captured by the British.

Most of the American supplies and artillery had to be left behind. These were indeed the darkest days for the Revolution and led to Thomas Paine's famous words, "These are the times that try men's souls…"

Fort Lee has been named as a significant stop on the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Revolutionary War trail.

The Little Red Lighthouse:
Located in Fort Washington Park, 178th Street and the Hudson River, is Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse acquired its affectionate nickname from Hildegarde H. Swift’s 1942 children’s classic, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge.

Illustrated by Lynd Ward, this tale of the friendship between the tiny beacon and the George Washington Bridge introduced children around the world to the red, round, and very, very proud little lighthouse in New York.

Built in 1880, the 40-foot tower was moved in 1921 to Jeffrey’s Hook, a rocky point on the Hudson River near Manhattan’s northern edge. The Lighthouse warned ships away from the shore as they made their way down the narrow channel between New York and New Jersey.
However, when construction of the George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931, the brilliant lights of the bridge’s 600-foot towers overwhelmed the little Lighthouse. In 1947, it was officially decommissioned and abandoned, and by 1951, the Little Red Lighthouse was slated for demolition – its cast-iron shell to be sold for scrap.

Hearing this news, thousands of children who had loved Swift’s book started a nationwide campaign to save the Little Red Lighthouse. Thanks in part to their efforts; ownership of the Lighthouse was transferred from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Today, visitors climb a long, iron stair to the top of the tower, where the lantern room is again fitted with a working lens that blinks proudly at cargo barges and passenger ships sailing under the George Washington Bridge.

The Little Red Lighthouse is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and is a member of the Historic House Trust and is located in Fort Washington Park, 178th Street and the Hudson River, Manhattan. The lighthouse is open on a regular basis for tours from Spring thru Fall, led by Urban Park Rangers. Call ahead for schedule and information. Inside the lighthouse are historical exhibits on the lighthouse and area.

To reach the lighthouse, located in Fort Washington Park, drive your car or take the "A" train to West 181 Street. Walk west on 181 St, down the hill toward the Hudson River, cross the pedestrian foot bridge just north of 181 St. and follow the winding path into the park and the lighthouse.

The Little Red Lighthouse stopped being used as a functional lighthouse long ago, but over the years, this 40-foot-high structure has become a beacon of another kind.Located underneath the George Washington Bridge along a treacherous section of the Hudson River once known as Jeffrey’s Hook, this is one of the few surviving lighthouses in New York City and serves as a quaint reminder of the area’s history.

Long ago, Native Americans known locally as the Wiechquaesgeck-part of the Lenape tribe inhabited much of the upper Manhattan and eastern New Jersey. The Wiechquaesgeck, and later the Dutch and English colonists, fished and hunted along the banks of the Hudson River.

The Hudson was also an important route for travel, connecting upstate cities such as Albany to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. As traffic increased along the river, so did the number of shipwrecks at Jeffrey’s Hook. In an attempt to reduce accidents, a red pole was placed at Jeffrey’s Hook jutting out over the river to warn travelers of danger.

In 1889, two 10-candlepower lanterns were placed on the pole to aid navigation. Much of the land surrounding the lighthouse, including the riverbanks of Jeffrey’s Hook, was acquired by the City in 1896, and became known as Fort Washington Park.In the early 20th century, barge captains carrying goods up and down the Hudson demanded a brighter beacon.

The Little Red Lighthouse had originally been erected on Sandy Hook, New Jersey in 1880, where it used a 1,000 pound fog signal and flashing red light to guide ships through the night. It became obsolete and was dismantled in 1917. In 1921, the lighthouse was reconstructed on Jeffrey’s Hook in an attempt to improve navigational aids on the Hudson River.

Run by a part-time keeper and furnished with a battery-powered lamp and a fog bell, the lighthouse, then known as Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse, was an important guide to river travelers for ten years. The George Washington Bridge opened in 1931, and the brighter lights of the bridge again made the lighthouse obsolete.

In 1948, the Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse, and its lamp was extinguished.The Coast Guard planned to auction off the lighthouse, but an outpouring of support for the beacon helped save it. The outcry from the public was prompted by the children’s book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, written by Hildegarde Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward and published in 1942.

In the popular book, the Little Red Lighthouse is happy and content until a great bridge is built over it. In the end, the lighthouse learns that it still has an important job to do and that there is still a place in the world for on old lighthouse. The classic tale captured the imaginations of children and adults, many of whom wrote letters and sent money to help save the icon from the auction block.

On July 23, 1951, the Coast Guard gave the property to the City of New York, and on May 29, 1979, the Little Red Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

First Year Totals

First Year Totals:
September 11, 2008 - September 10, 2009

Total Miles Walked To Date (09/10/09): 536.0 Miles
Total Miles RunTo Date (09/10/09): 421.2 Miles
Total Miles Walked/Run To Date (09/10/09): 957.2 Miles