nathenson's digital garbage » Photos

1934: Building a brick & mortar archive

Ira Nathenson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:19:51 +0000

The logo I’ve always used for the site is an image of the National Archives Building. Amazingly, Congress did not approve such a building until 1926. The architect was John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art. Ground was broken in 1931 and the building was mostly completed by 1935. According to the online history:

By the time President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the building in February 1933, significant problems had arisen. Because the massive structure was to be constructed above an underground stream, 8,575 piles had been driven into the unstable soil, before pouring a huge concrete bowl as a foundation. Another difficulty arose over the choice of building materials. Both limestone and granite were authorized as acceptable, but construction began during the darkest days of the Great Depression, and suppliers of each material lobbied fiercely to have the government use their stone. Ultimately, as in the other Federal Triangle buildings, limestone was used for the exterior superstructure and granite for the base.

Here’s construction images:

September 30, 1932

September 5, 1933

December 4, 1933

October 1, 1934

As the National Archives notes, not only was the structure built in a troublesome location, but archives have special needs, further complicating the construction:

Constructing the National Archives was a mammoth task. Not only was the building the most ornate structure on the Federal Triangle, but it also called for installation of specialized air-handling systems and filters, reinforced flooring, and thousands of feet of shelving to meet the building’s archival storage requirements. The building’s exterior took more than 4 years to finish and required a host of workers ranging from sculptors and model makers to air-conditioning contractors and structural-steel workers.

Here’s a shot similar to the one used for the site logo.

June 1, 1934

Ground was broken for the National Archives on September 9, 1931. By the time President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the building in February 1933, significant problems had arisen. Because the massive structure was to be constructed above an underground stream, 8,575 piles had been driven into the unstable soil, before pouring a huge concrete bowl as a foundation. Another difficulty arose over the choice of building materials. Both limestone and granite were authorized as acceptable, but construction began during the darkest days of the Great Depression, and suppliers of each material lobbied fiercely to have the government use their stone. Ultimately, as in the other Federal Triangle buildings, limestone was used for the exterior superstructure and granite for the base.

Construction

Constructing the National Archives was a mammoth task. Not only was the building the most ornate structure on the Federal Triangle, but it also called for installation of specialized air-handling systems and filters, reinforced flooring, and thousands of feet of shelving to meet the building’s archival storage requirements. The building’s exterior took more than 4 years to finish and required a host of workers ranging from sculptors and model makers to air-conditioning contractors and structural-steel workers.

The patient dragonfly

Ira Nathenson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:50:41 +0000

As readers of my site know, I love photography. Weston, where I live, was part of the Everglades not too many years ago, and a 10-minute bike ride will get me to one of the last great frontiers of American wildlife. Sometimes that wildlife can be found in your very own back yard. A few days ago, I was sitting out back looking at my daughter’s garden. All of a sudden, a beautiful dragonfly sat right in front of me on a branch of my daughter’s tomato plant. It sat very calmly while staring at me and studying my face. Although my slightest facial twitch would elicit a reaction from the dragonfly, it remained still. Wanting the picture, I ran back into the house to get my camera. Amazingly, the dragonfly was still there and sat patiently to have his portrait taken. I never realized until then what beautiful and colorful creatures they are.

Dramatic Metrozoo Squirrel

Ira Nathenson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:06:34 +0000

Dramatic Prairie Dog is a popular internet meme.

Here’s Dramatic Metrozoo Squirrel.

When I see a (map turtle) fly

Ira Nathenson — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:27:19 +0000

“But I think I’ll have seen about everything
When I see an elephant a map turtle fly.”

Shelley goes “blaaaaaaaah!”, originally uploaded by JusticeJustice.

Rare planetary conjunction: upside-down frown

Ira Nathenson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:41:42 +0000

Tonight we were treated to a rare, beautiful, and odd planetary conjunction: Venus, Jupiter, and a crescent moon in an upside-down frown. (An unintended ode to the first day of finals?) It was easily viewed from my back yard in South Florida where I took the photo. Jupiter — the largest of the objects — is in the lower right, its distance making it seem to be the smallest. The smallest object, the moon, appears to be the largest since it’s closest to the Earth.

As Wired points out:

Look up at the sky Monday night to see a bright cosmic frown. The planets Jupiter and Venus will briefly align to form (nearly upside down) two eyes and a frowning mouth in the southwest.

In what’s called a planetary conjunction, the two planets —the brightest in the night sky — will appear extremely close, separated by only the width of a finger held at arm’s length. They won’t be this close together and well-placed for evening viewing again until May 2013.

Final exams and cat naps

Ira Nathenson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:38:39 +0000

Finals are coming fast, but still make sure to take care of yourself. This cat does.

New River Gorge

Ira Nathenson — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:24:42 +0000

Enough tech. Nature calls, as they say. Here’s a shot from the observation deck at New River Gorge, August 2008. An absolutely beautiful place with an ancient river (think pre-dinasours). The background was desaturated to emphasize the tree in the front.

Pittsburgh zoo

Ira Nathenson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:24:45 +0000

We recently visited the Pittsburgh Zoo. Here’s a baby tiger born recently at the zoo:

Visitor

Ira Nathenson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:43:21 +0000

Earlier this summer, a pregnant dove set up shop on a windowsill. We watched the hatchlings outside our bedroom window for weeks before mother and babies went off on their own. Doves come back from time to time, and I like to think this is one of the babies born this summer.

Update: a while later, two birds were on the windowsill. I’m sure they’re ours.

Mineo’s Pizza

Ira Nathenson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:05:57 +0000

I’m originally from Pittsburgh, having moved to South Florida a few years ago. Of the things I miss from Pittsburgh — or in Pittsburghese, “Picksburgh” — I especially miss its great pizza joints, such as Vincent’s Pizza Park on Ardmore Blvd. (famous for their huuuge pies).

Particularly great are three pizza places within two blocks of one another on Murray Avenue, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh: Napoli Pizzeria, Aiello’s Pizza, and my lifelong favorite, Mineo’s Pizza House. Mineo’s has been a Pittsburgh institution since 1958. It’s so popular with expatriate Pittsburghers that it sends pies via FedEx to Mineo’s-deprived fans. My first Mineo’s pie, which I had when I was 5 or 6, was a life-changing experience, and I’ve been a loyal customer ever since.

I recently had a chance to re-visit Mineo’s and it was every bit as good as I remembered. We quickly devoured a large pie (half plain, half with onions and green pepper). Living in South Florida, I’m somewhat pizza-deprived. There’s a lot of good and varied food in South Florida, and I particularly enjoy the many good sushi and Thai restaurants. But I have yet to find a pizza place that comes close to the best of Pittsburgh.

Note: transplanted from personal blog.