Revisit to Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York City August 30, 2013

This site, obviously on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is a Museum/Monument to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were crowded into tenement buildings during the late 1850's to the 1930's in this part of town.  There were various influxes of Italians, Jews, Chinese, and later Dominicans and Puerto Ricans into this general area, all of them stuffed into small cramped apartments that were later targeted by reformers to improve living conditions. 

Over 7000 families lived in this building during its time as an apartment building! 

While here, I did get the missing bonus stamp I needed for this location- 

Park # 272/401 St Paul's Church NHS Mt Vernon NY August 30, 2013

This was the last stop of our tour today, and by this time we were all dragging a bit! 

We had taken a cab from the Hamilton Grange Site over to the subway at 145th and St Nicholas Ave, and rode up to Yankee Stadium, then took a downtown 4 train one stop to get to an uptown 5 train, then rode it to the last stop on the line-   We then found a gypsy cab to take us the mile or so on up to the site.  7.00. 

This is the site of one of the older churches in the area, dating back to the early 1700's. 

The interior very much reminds me of the Old North Church in Boston, with the high pews and
"plainness" of the interior.  You were here for church, and that was it- although this one did have a nice organ dating back to 1830, that had been installed later. 

This is a view of the church as how it looks today-  It sat on a 5 acre plot, which originally included a "village green", sort of a town hall meeting place without the structures. 

 Here is a postcard from 1907-  not much has changed!

 

We watched a movie about the site, and then did a quick tour, led by a very sharp young docent, who was a rising senior in high school-  She really knew her stuff!  During the tour, NP Trekker made a joke about playing a concert for us on the organ, and the church organist did come and play us a brief few bars of Beethoven's Ode to Joy!  Quite a treat since the organ dated since the 1830's. 

 

Got one of the two stamps that were listed for this location- 

 

 

This was a significant stop for me, I have now completed all the National Park sites for the North Atlantic Region!

Finally, after 4 tries, George Peabody House- Essex NHA Peabody Mass August 14, 2013

On the forth try, I finally got the two stamps today at the George Peabody House and Museum portion of the Essex NHA today in Peabody Mass.  It was another drive of about 50 miles down, but I got it.  I now have completed the current 20 locations for this NHA!  Yay me. 

Quick run down to Charlestown Navy Yard- Boston National Historical Park August 12 2013

Weather was nice today, so I decided to run down to the East Side of Boston National Historical Park, and stopped in at the Charleston Navy Yard to pick up three stamps I was missing, got all three! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revisit to Essex NHA HQ for new stamp August 7th 2013 Salem, Mass.

 I headed to downtown Salem Mass, so I could get the new Essex stamp at the Headquarters for the NHA.  I got parked, and then had to hunt a bit for the location, even though it was in fact at 221 Essex Street-  then you walked into this non-descript store front, looked on the directory, took an  elevator 4 flights up, then wandered through an office with almost no one in it to get the stamp.  Got it. 

The old one had a broken date wheel, the new one fixes that. 

Revisit to Salem Maritime National Historical Park Salem, Mass Aug 7 2013

While on my Northern Boston area swing today, I decided to drop back by the Salem Maritime NHS to hit a couple of places I had not been to before, even though I visited the site twice before. 

The main goal for this trip was a visit to the Friendship of Salem, a replica sailing ship that is housed in the port part of the park. 

 

The Friendship of Salem is a 171-foot replica of a 1797 East Indiaman, built in the Scarano Brothers Shipyard in Albany, New York, in 2000. The ship usually functions as a stationary museum during most of the year, however the ship is a fully functioning United States Coast Guard certified vessel capable of passenger and crew voyages, and will set sail during various times of the year. The first American National Historic Site is run by the National Park Service and is the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, this is where the Friendship of Salem is docked.

            

Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Career
Name:	Friendship of Salem
Namesake:	Friendship (1797)
Owner:	National Park Service
Builder:	Scarano Brothers Shipyard
Launched:	November 1996
Acquired:	September 1, 1998
Homeport:	Salem, MA
Status:	in service
Badge:	Woman in classical dress offering a bouqet of flowers
General characteristics
Class & type:	Full rigged ship
Length:	171 feet bowsprit to spanker boom
Beam:	30 feet
Height:	20 feet keel to deck at midship
Decks:	main deck, 'tween deck, and holds
Installed power:	onboard generators
Propulsion:	21 sails, twin diesel engines
Speed:	7.2 maximum / 5.8 average knots
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 jolly boat

 

I also got around to touring the Custom House, which is across the street, a part of the park I hadn't seen before-

The orientation shack portion of the park was closed due to sequestration, pretty stupid idea, the other Visitor's center is about a 10 minute hike away.  No new or different stamps here today- Already had a pin, and there was no hiking staff medallion.