Artists on the Island

As a life-long wannabe artist, I'm often stunned by the fine and applied art we have in the collections. For instance, the first time I came to the museum I was gobsmacked by the collection of shop emblems on the wall facing the entrance to building 46. It's a rare day when I don't come across something equally stunning but languishing in storage; photographs, paintings, knotboards....

As a lover of art, and an infomaniac, one of the missing pieces for me is often: "Who did this?" as is the case with the sign in the Shop 31 exhibit, which says something to the effect of "Pick out your safety glasses before you have to pick out a glass eye." It isn't just a sign... and yes, I need a photograph of it here so you, dear reader, can both see what I'm talking about and possibly help identify its maker.

The Sail Is Set

Many thanks to Phil Joy Housemovers (of Benecia Ca and somewhere in Hawai'i) who volunteered to do the move at the proverbial last minute. They did a flawless job of moving 132,000 pounds of vintage steel without a hiccup. Give them a call at (707) 648-0540 to say thanks or to get your house moved or leveled.

The sail moving project blog entry should be moving down the ways and ready for christening in the next day or two. In addition to the time lapse movies I shot on the digital camera, there are 6 rolls of film (yes, some diehards still use the stuff) at the processors. If any of those turn out, they'll be uploaded here soon.

Erik Halberstadt
12/05/2009

Mare Island Links

Just a FEW of the many pages dedicated to Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the men, machines, and the fruits of their labors.

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.

I went looking for a kit of a Curtiss Model D biplane to go along with the dream of building the model to recreate Ely's landing on the Pennsylvania... and boy, did I ever find one I want!!

"Mongo like candy!"

One of Many Firsts On Mare Island

It's a little known fact that the first aircraft carrier landing took place in San Francisco on January 18, 1911, on a ship, the USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4) converted for the purpose at Mare Island. Ely had done the first carrier takeoff from the deck of USS Birmingham on 14 November 1910. The following photographs, and the quoted text, are from the Naval Online Archives.

"A Long Line of Ships"

The history of Mare Island's first Hundred Years as a naval shipyard, as told by Arnold S. Lott, Lt. Commander, USN, in 1954.

I'm just up to the turn of the (last) century, and so far it's both a  fascinating and engaging read.

More to come, as I have time.

Here's the warmup!

And here's the Pitch!

I've been a volunteer at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation Museum for about six months, near as I can figure, and now that I'm on the fundraising committee, have built a picasaweb album for the museum's volunteers, I need  a common access point. I'm hoping this is it!


The picture is building 46, home to the museum, and still standing over 150 years after it was built.

Expect to see more soon, like a paypal button for donations to the Foundation, links to our volunteer coordinator, events, progress reports on our exhibits, and the like.

Thanks for stopping by, and wish us luck if you're so inclined.