[CARNEGIE DEDICATION PLAQUES FROM FREE LIBRARY BRANCHES]
Filed under: Bridges, Philadelphia, Schuylkill River, South Street Bridge, built environment | Tags: South Street Bridge
[GOOGLE EARTH/HOG ISLAND SHIPYARD OVERLAY SHOWING SHIPWAYS]
My essay on the machine island of Hog Island is available on Phillyhistory.org. In that forum I present a nuts-and-bolts overview of the establishment of the facility, if a little indebted to James J. Martin’s revisionist essay on the mismanagement of the site. Martin’s essay, “The Saga of Hog Island, 1917-1920: The Story of the First Great War Boondoggle” is methodical and strident though slightly limited in its treatment of the social/labor dimensions of the site. Martin’s direct point is that the site was an utter failure, producing no meaningful warships to carry the fight to Europe during the conflict. But the larger design of his piece is to demythologize our patriotic appreciation of a disinterested private sector laying down its essential business to help the country in time of war.
