A Brief History of Wire Rope: Re-Rigging the Peking | Episode 241

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Wire rope helped build many New York City landmarks in the nineteenth century, most notably the Brooklyn Bridge, but it quickly became an essential tool in the maritime industry as well. Marine surveyor Charlie Deroko returns to our virtual programs with an engineer’s perspective on the history of wire rope and a mechanics’ view of its use on historic tall ships, specifically the Peking, which spent 40 years in the South Street Seaport Museum’s collection.

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Virtual Walking Tour of DUMBO’s Historic Architecture | Episode 178

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

The neighborhood today known as DUMBO was once the center for the agricultural hamlet of Brooklyn, and grew into a center of commerce, shipping, and manufacturing. On this virtual walk, we will look at several eras of the neighborhood’s history reflected in its architecture. From the storage warehouses of the 1860s, to the reinforced concrete industrial buildings of the Gairville complex, to the last remaining tenement building in the neighborhood, we will also examine how these buildings have been repurposed to create one of the most expensive residential and office districts in all of New York City.

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Aircraft Carrier Visits Now a Rare Sight in NYC

Last week, New York City was visited by the flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth. This 65,000-ton carrier has spent several weeks in the US while undergoing flight testing with the F-35B fighter, which will be the primary component of its air wing. The seven-day stopover in New York was mostly for crew R-and-R, though the ship also hosted the Atlantic Future Forum on cybersecurity.

New York City is home to the Intrepid, permanently docked on the Hudson River and home to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, and the city still hosts Fleet Week every year around Memorial Day (with some exceptions), but aircraft carriers have not been part of the festivities for over a decade. Let’s take a look back at some of the floating airfields that have visited the city.>> Continue reading