USS Olympia and matter of longterm survival of air artifacts

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

The Olympia sits in fresh water. The salt tide line is several miles south of where it is docked.

[Pat Carry]

Hey Tony, Since the ship is sorts in your backyard, is there any hope at all the Olympia can be saved or is it simply doomed?

[Pat Carry]

The Olympia sits in fresh water. The salt tide line is several miles south of where it is docked.

Tony, BTW thanks for the awesome autographed photo! Thats was very nice of you

[viking73]

Personally, I now doubt that Iowa will ever find a home and think she'll will eventually be reefed.

That would be awful. Who is trying to get her now? I know that efforts in and around the Bay Area haven't been too successful...

-Derek

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Hey Tony, Since the ship is sorts in your backyard, is there any hope at all the Olympia can be saved or is it simply doomed?

Your welcome Pat . I haven't really loooked into it, but it seems that they will have to spend millions to move it or scrap it so why not fix it instead? Battle of egos going on it seems.

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Here is a link to the current situation. I see the words " NEW DIRECTION" and I feel that means abandonment !


http://www.phillyseaport.org/ships_olympia.shtml

[Xrayist]

« 'Waste 102' Web Exclusive: Full Int...Obama's Unilateral Disarmament »
Print Share- + March 12, 2010 | 9:55 PM ET
'Waste 102': The Final ListThe 102 worst ways the government is spending your tax dollars:

102: Protecting a Michigan insect collection from other insects ($187,632)

101: Highway beautified by fish art in Washington ($10,000)

100: University studying hookup behavior of female college coeds in New York ($219,000)

99: Police department getting 92 blackberries for supervisors in Rhode Island ($95,000)

98: Upgrades to seldom-used river cruise boat in Oklahoma ($1.8 million)

97: Precast concrete toilet buildings for Mark Twain National Forest in Montana ($462,000)

96: University studying whether mice become disoriented when they consume alcohol in Florida ($8,408)

95: Foreign bus wheel polishers for California ($259,000)

94: Recovering crab pots lost at sea in Oregon ($700,000)

93: Developing a program to develop "machine-generated humor" in Illinois ($712,883)

92: Colorado museum where stimulus was signed (and already has $90 million in the bank) gets geothermal stimulus grant ($2.6 million)

91: Grant to the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance to support the traditional arts apprenticeship program, gathering and festival ($30,000)

90: Studying methamphetamines and the female rat sex drive in Maryland ($30,000)

89: Studying mating decisions of cactus bugs in Florida ($325,394)

88: Studying why deleting a gene can create sex reversal in people, but not in mice in Minnesota ($190,000)

87: College hires director for a project on genetic control of sensory hair cell membrane channels in zebrafish in California ($327,337)

86: New jumbo recycling bins with microchips embedded inside to track participation in Ohio ($500,000)

85: Oregon Federal Building's "green" renovation at nearly the price of a brand new building ($133 million)

84: Massachusetts middle school getting money to build a solar array on its roof ($150,000)

83: Road widening that could have been millions of dollars cheaper if Lousiana hadn't opted to replace a bridge that may not have needed replacing ($60 million)

82: Cleanup effort of a Washington nuclear waste site that already got $12 billion from the DOE ($1.9 billion)

81: Six woodlands water taxis getting a new home in Texas ($750,000)

80: Maryland group gets money to develop "real life" stories that underscore job and infrastructure-related research findings ($363,760)

79: Studying social networks like Facebook in North Carolina ($498,000)

78:18 North Carolina teacher coaches to heighten math and reading performance ($4.4 million)

77: Retrofitting light switches with motion sensors for one company in Arizona ($800,000)

76: Removing graffiti along 100 miles of flood-control ditches in California ($837,000)

75: Bicycle lanes, shared lane signs and bike racks in Pennsylvania ($105,000)

74: Privately-owned steakhouse rehabilitating its restaurant space in Missouri ($75,000)

73: National dinner cruise boat company in Illinois outfitting vessels with surveillance systems to protect against terrorists ($1 million)

72: Producing and transporting peanuts and peanut butter in North Carolina ($900,000)

71: Refurnishing and delivering picnic tables in Iowa ($30,000)

70: Digital television converter box coupon program in D.C. ($650 million)

69: Elevating and relocating 3,000 feet of track for the Napa Valley Wine Train in California ($54 million)

68: Hosting events for Earth Day, the summer solstice etc. in Minnesota ($50,000)

67: Expanding ocean aquaculture in Hawaii ($99,960)

66: Raising railroad tracks 18 inches in Oregon because the residents of one small town were tired of taking a detour around them ($4.2 million)

65: Professors and employees of Iowa state universities voluntarily taking early retirement ($43 million)

64: Minnesota theatre named after Che Guevara putting on "socially conscious" puppet shows ($25,000)

63: Replacing a basketball court lighting system with a more energy efficient one in Arizona ($20,000)

62: Repainting and adding a security camera to one bridge in Oregon ($3.5 million)

61: Missouri bridge project that already was full-funded with state money ($8 million)

60: New hospital parking garage in New York that will employ less people ($19.5 million)

59: University in North Carolina studying why adults with ADHD smoke more ($400,000)

58: Low-income housing residents in one Minnesota city receiving free laptops, WiFi and iPod Touches to "educate" them in technology ($5 million)

57: University in California sending students to Africa to study why Africans vote they the way they do in their elections ($200,000)

56: Researching the impact of air pollution combined with a high-fat diet on obesity development in Ohio ($225,000)

55: Studying how male and female birds care for their offspring and how it compares to how humans care for their children in Oklahoma ($90,000)

54: University in Pennsylvania researching fossils in Argentina (over $1 million)

53: University in Tennessee studying how black holes form (over $1 million)

52: University in Oklahoma sending 3 researchers to Alaska to study grandparents and how they pass on knowledge to younger generations ($1.5 million)

51: Grant application from a Pennsylvania university for a researcher named in the Climate-gate scandal (Rep. Darrell Issa is calling on the president to freeze the grant) ($500,000)

50: Studying the impact of global warming on wildflowers in a Colorado ghost town ($500,000)

49: Bridge built over railroad crossing so 168 Nebraska town residents don't have to wait for the trains to pass ($7 million)

48: Renovating an old hotel into a visitors center in Kentucky ($300,000)

47: Removing overgrown weeds in a Rhode Island park ($250,000)

46: Renovating 5 seldom-used ports of entry on the U.S.-Canada border in Montana ($77 million)

45: Testing how to control private home appliances in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts from an off-site computer ($800,000)

44: Repainting a rarely-used bridge in North Carolina ($3.1 million)

43: Renovating a desolate Wisconsin bridge that averages 10 cars a day ($426,000)

42: 4 new buses for New Hampshire ($2 million)

41: Repaving a 1-mile stretch of Atlanta road that had parts of it already repaved in 2007 ($490,000)

40: Florida beauty school tuition ($2.3 million)

39: Extending a bike path to the Minnesota Twins stadium ($500,000)

38: Beautification of Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard ($1.1 million)

37: Colorado Dragon Boat Festival ($10,000)

36: Developing the next generation of supersonic corporate jets in Maryland that could cost $80 million dollars each ($4.7 million)

35: New spring training facilities for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies ($30 million)

34: Demolishing 35 old laboratories in New Mexico ($212 million)

33: Putting free WiFi, Internet kiosks and interactive history lessons in 2 Texas rest stops ($13.8 million)

32: Replacing a single boat motor on a government boat in D.C. ($10,500)

31: Developing the next generation of football gloves in Pennsylvania ($150,000)

30: Pedestrian bridge to nowhere in West Virginia ($80,000)

29: Replacing all signage on 5 miles of road in Rhode Island ($4,403,205)

28: Installing a geothermal energy system to heat the "incredible shrinking mall" in Tennessee ($5 million)

27: University in Minnesota studying how to get the homeless to stop smoking ($230,000)

26: Large woody habitat rehabilitation project in Wisconsin ($16,800)

25: Replacing escalators in the parking garage of one D.C. metro station ($4.3 million)

24: Building an airstrip in a community most Alaskans have never even heard of ($14,707,949)

23: Bike and pedestrian paths connecting Camden, N.J. to Philadelphia, Penn. when there's already a bridge that connects them ($23 million)

22: Sending 10 university undergrads each year from North Carolina to Costa Rica to study the rainforests ($564,000)

21: Road signs touting stimulus funds at work in Ohio ($1 million)

20: Researching how paying attention improves performance of difficult tasks in Connecticut ($850,000)

19: Kentucky Transportation Department awarding contracts to companies associated with a road contractor accused of bribing the previous state transportation secretary ($24 million)

18: Amtrak losing $32 per passenger nationally but rewarded with windfall ($1.3 billion)

17: Widening an Arizona interstate even though the company that won the contract has a history of tax fraud and pollution ($21.8 million)

16: Replace existing dumbwaiters in New York ($351,807)

15: Deer underpass in Wyoming ($1,239,693)

14: Arizona universities examining the division of labor in ant colonies (combined $950,000)

13: Fire station without firefighters in Nevada ($2 million)

12: "Clown" theatrical production in Pennsylvania ($25,000)

11: Maryland town gets money but doesn't know what to do with it ($25,000)

10: Investing in nation-wide wind power (but majority of money has gone to foreign companies) ($2 billion)

9: Resurfacing a tennis court in Montana ($50,000)

8: University in Indiana studying why young men do not like to wear condoms ($221,355)

7: Funds for Massachusetts roadway construction to companies that have defrauded taxpayers, polluted the environment and have paid tens of thousands of dollars in fines for violating workplace safety laws (millions)

6: Sending 11 students and 4 teachers from an Arkansas university to the U.N. climate change convention in Copenhagen, using almost 54,000 lbs of carbon dioxide from air travel alone ($50,000)

5: Storytelling festival in Utah ($15,000)

4: Door mats to the Department of the Army in Texas ($14,675)

3: University in New York researching young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke pot ($389,357)

2: Solar panels for climbing gym in Colorado ($157,800)

1: Grant for one Massachusetts university for "robobees" (miniature flying robot bees) ($2 million)

GRAND TOTAL: $4,891,645,229
Hannity Producers

Maybe we can curtail such projects as listed above and spend the money, or at least a very, very small percentage of it, and save the Olympia.
The major problem today is ignorance followed closely by apathy. I would wager that the average high school graduate, and probably average college grad as well, cannot name the years that the major wars..Civil, WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, started and stopped, or who was involved in the wars.
There is apathy as well (please be careful when mentioning the Liberty Bell, or Statue of Liberty, as someone might think it is all right to scrap them and build a nice new mall, or high rise condos in their place. Very few people a couple of decades younger than I (I am 53), know much about history. In the place where I work there is a 30 year old college graduate that couldn't even find the state she lives in on a map unless it was marked. She could not name any surrounding states either.
I am very sad that I never got a chance to see the Olympia, and looks like I never will. At times it is embarassing to talk to the younger generation as they seem to care so little for anything that does not directly affect them. There are exceptions, but they seem fewer and farther in between.

[Mark_Pilkington]

1: Grant for one Massachusetts university for "robobees" (miniature flying robot bees) ($2 million)

Well I just dont see the point of your post, your not seriously suggesting that the urgent need for "miniature flying robot bees" be robbed of its funding simply to keep some old rotting ships from becoming useful fish reefs are you??

(I hope we dont have some university down here see that grant and want to develop miniature flying robot BlowFlys, or Mosquitos - thats the last thing we need Robbo-Blowies or Robbo-Mozzies!)

Smiles

Mark Pilkington

[Steve Nelson]

Other than the Whyalla beached whale example above, are there any large ship preservations already in coffer dams?

The 550 ft Great Lakes frieghter S.S. Valley Camp has been a museum ship in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, since the late 60s. She's surrounded by water, but I think she's actually grounded in mud. It's been a few years since I visited, but I believe she's cut off by a strip of dry land from the river.

A bit off-topic, but last week we visited Battleship Park in Mobile, home of USS Alabama. Those folks have done an amazing job recovering from the devastation wrought by Katrina five years ago. I first visited a month before the storm, and the museum has not only repaired the damaged facilities and most of the aircraft, many actually look better now than they did before the hurricane.

SN

[goshikisen]

From the Independance Seaport's Website:

"During its tenure as Olympia's steward, the Seaport has worked tirelessly to preserve, repair, and maintain the ship."

I'm not sure when it was that "directors helping themselves to Museum funds..." became synonymous with "working tirelessly to preserve, repair, and maintain". You'd think that someone would cut the ship some slack seeing as how those who were entrusted with its preservation decided to treat the museum like a Roman orgy.

Is there anything other than sending a modest donation that a Canadian can do to help keep this ship preserved?

[JDK]

Other than the Whyalla beached whale example above, are there any large ship preservations already in coffer dams?

The 550 ft Great Lakes frieghter S.S. Valley Camp has been a museum ship in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, since the late 60s. She's surrounded by water, but I think she's actually grounded in mud. It's been a few years since I visited, but I believe she's cut off by a strip of dry land from the river.

The SS Great Britain, one of the success storis is preserved out of the water in it's original construction drydock. The clipper Cutty Sark, badly damaged during refurbishment in a bad fire, is another that comes to mind in drydock.

[ZRX61]

The SS Great Britain, one of the success storis is preserved out of the water in it's original construction drydock. The clipper Cutty Sark, badly damaged during refurbishment in a bad fire, is another that comes to mind in drydock.

ahem:

HMS Victory.....

[ZRX61]

96: University studying whether mice become disoriented when they consume alcohol in Florida ($8,408)

Wait a sec, so not only did they get the mice drunk.. they sent them on Spring Break??

[APG85]

Neat salvage pictures of the Great Britain...

http://www.southamericanpictures.com/co ... -index.htm

[JDK]

The SS Great Britain, one of the success stories is preserved out of the water in its original construction drydock. The clipper Cutty Sark, badly damaged during refurbishment in a bad fire, is another that comes to mind in drydock.

ahem:

HMS Victory.....

Indeed. Once you get going it's quite a long list. Brower's 'International Register of Historic Ships' lists all original ships, hulks etc. Feel free to ahem your way through it.

I'll be correcting my typos in previous posts.

As I said before, it's an interesting thread, with much to think about coming out.

Regards,