"Hotel Reading Room, Seamen's Church Institute of New York, 25 South Street"
Black and white postcard depicting the reading room at 25 South Street, the headquarters of the Seamen's Church Institute from 1913-1967. Well-dressed sailors of various ages sit at desks with newspapers and other reading material.
"Ships, the Lifeline of Britain" Benefit Party
Seamen’s Church Institute provides digital access to materials from its Archives for educational and research purposes. Responsibility for determining copyright status of and securing permission to use an item rests with the person desiring to use the material.
black and white photographs
The tugboat “Thomas Tracy”, built by the Levingston Shipbuilding Company for Tracy Towing Lines.
The basement included the baggage and laundry rooms.
photographs
black and white photograph
The chapel held regular services for mariners. Rev. James R. Whittemore and Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr., 13th Bishop of New York, are pictured.
15 State Street Cornerstone Laying Ceremony
Rededication of the cornerstone from 25 South Street to 15 State Street. Rev. Pictured are Roscoe T. Foust, Rev. John M. Mulligan, and Franklin E. Vilas.
15 State Street Department of Special Services
This department included the Missing Seamen's Bureau, the Women's Council, and Ship Visitation.
Mariners and employees waiting in line for accommodations
Boarding rooms, including one under construction and an early architectural rendering
architectural drawing
Merchant mariners waiting and socializing in SCI's lobby.
SCI ran a small publishing house out of the Magazine Room.
1930 Merchant Seaman Census example image
25 South Street Alcoholics Assitance Bureau
SCI's Department of Special Services founded the Alcoholics Assistance Bureau in 1945 in cooperation with the Seamen's Branch of Alcoholics Anonymous.
SCI announced plans to build an annex to 25 South Street in 1924. Construction began in 1925 and the annex officially opened in 1928. The old buildings on Front Street, demolished in 1925 to build the annex, construction of the annex, and a partially finished view of the annex are shown.
The Apprentice Room provided young men a place to read and play games under the supervision of Edith Baxter.
black and white photographs, postcards and lantern slides
The auditorium held a wide variety of events. In addition to the empty and filled room, there is a photograph of a man operating equipment backstage and one of members of the United States Coast Guard during a training exercise.
black and white photographs and lantern slides
black and white photographs and a lantern slide
Black and white, sepia, and color photographs, postcards, drawings, and lantern slides of the exterior of 25 South Street. The building is shown in the New York City skyline, with aerial views, shots of the building with and without the annex, views of the building during the evening with the illuminated cross and Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, and preparation of the building for demolition in 1968.
photographs and lantern slides
drawings
These photos show mariners dining at the cafeteria as well as the kitchen, workers, and murals on the walls.
Photographs
The reredos seascape mural was painted by Gordon Grant
The chapel held regular services, as well as Christmas (and other holiday) services, weddings, and funerals. Included is a group portrait of Rev. Lawrence A. Harkness, Rt. Rev. William T. Manning and Rev. Harold H. Kelley, photos of Rev. Raymond S. Hall and Rt. Rev. William T. Manning, and a group portrait of Revs. Joseph D. Huntley, James Savoy, G. Basil Hollas, William Haynsworth, Richard J. Bauer, Francis D. Daley, Roscoe T. Foust, John M. Mulligan and Charles Boyton. The stained glass windows were provided by funds from the legacy of William H. Vanderbilt in 1888, and the altar's reredos seascape was painted by Gordon Grant.
25 South Street Department of Special Services
This department included the Missing Seamen's Bureau, the Women's Council, and Ship Visitation. R
A dining room on its opening day December 3, 1928 and the Officer's Dining Room circa 1913.
The SCI employment bureau located temporary jobs for unemployed mariners.
The new entrance to 25 South Street opened on March 5, 1928. Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield, Janet L. Roper, the Sir Galahad Memorial, and Christmas decorations are shown.
lantern slides
The game room was set up at SCI to help entertain mariners with bowling, billiards, card games, checkers and chess. Represented are Trevor M. Barlow playing billiards, Janet L. Roper bowling, and child cadet P.T. Lewis and engineer John Dunn of the torpedoed freighter Winkleigh playing checkers.
photographs and lantern slide
25 South Street Hotel Rooms and Dormitories
Private rooms and shared dormitories for sailors. Some are shown under renovation.
The lobby served as a meeting and waiting place, and featured a mural, United Nations flags, an elaborate floor compass, and seasonal decorations.
Painted by Lt. Cmdr. Edmond James Fitzgerald , the 37-foot mural depicted the role of merchant mariners in the World War II Normandy invasion. In addition to views of the mural, Capt. Percy H. Hauffman, 2Asst. Engr. Francis E. Rack, Alexander Waigant, Sten Nordh, L. Gordon Hamersley, Robert A. Constantine, and Clarence G. Michalis are shown at the unveiling.
The print shop printed The Lookout magazine, flyers, and event announcements for both distribution to mariners in town and for mailing to SCI donors.
Seamen enjoying their lounge. Janet L. Roper is shown in some photos.
25 South Street Seamen's Savings Department
The Seamen's Savings Department (also known as the Seamen's Funding Department and the Seamen's Wages Department) was set up for mariners to save money or send money home.
black and white photographs and colored lantern slides
negative
The sloppe chest distributed clothing, shoes, socks, underwear, and toiletries to shipwrecked mariners.
25 South Street Soda Fountain and Luncheonette
lantern slides and negative
25 South Street William D. Tracy Dental Clinic
Seamen's Church location at 535 Decatur Street, New Orleans
lantern slide and negative
Aerial and Landscape Views of New York City
SCI's headquarters at 25 South Street and 15 State Street can be seen in some of these photographs.
Aerial Views of Port Newark (Port Authority)
Aerial views of facilities at the Port of New York and New Jersey. Facilities shown are: Howland Hook Marine Terminal, Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, and Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Termin
color photographs
All Saints Episcopal Church was formerly the second Floating Church of Our Savior (1869-1911).
American Merchant Marine Oral Histories Word Cloud
Click to Find Audio Clips by Subject
American Seamen's Friend Society 507 West St
lantern slide
Ships out with a friend on the Murmansk Run (1943 or 44), from Scotland
Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey
mp3
Finishes unloading, picks up convoy near Murmansk; ships lost on the way back home
Tries to ship back out, called into Naval Intelligence and questioned about group of Russians who harassed him back near Arkhangelsk
Decision to join the merchant marine at 17 years old; taking the train from Missouri to New York City
Impressions of New York City, Times Square; training at Sheepshead Bay
Relationship to the AMMV; monument in Lakeway, Texas
Getting his Third Mate's license after the War; decision to leave the merchant marine for a career in accounting
Buzz bombs in Antwerp during the Battle of the Bulge
Takes a train with some friends to Brussels, caught by some M.P.s at a bar, sent back to Antwerp
Picks up a convoy of about 100 ships and an aircraft carrier under threat from the TIRPITZ (sister ship of BISMARCK), past Bear Island to Murmansk
Hears explosions of V-2 rockets while leaving Brussels
In Japan one month after V-J Day; builds an improvised boat to get ashore in Tokyo Bay, nearly sinks, rescued by Japanese fishermen
Explores post-war Tokyo, other Japanese towns
Cutting through the ice in the White Sea, gets frozen-in and waits for an ice-breaker
Unloading tanks in Bacaritsa and dealing with Russian customs; a crane collapse
Going ashore in Bacaritsa; going to the intourist place in town; cutting off heat on the ship to conserve fuel
Interacting with the local Russians; is invited into a Russian home
Walking across the ice to Arkhangelsk; finds an in-tourist for Russian officers, contrast with local poverty
Two Russian crewmembers welcomed in Russia, disappeared once they got to Russia
Gets harassed by a group of Russian soldiers
Parents immigrants from Poland, family; first ship Lawrence D. Tyson March 6, 1944, signed articles March 9, 1944; pension
Sails on the MV CAPE TEXAS during Operation Iraqi Freedom, attempts to unload cargo in Turkey but are turned away; unloading cargo in Kuwait during fighting
Ship Marine Snapper transporting refugees from Korea in the 1950s
Sailing during Iraqi Freedom; being the oldest guy on the ship; keeping radio silence during the War and a near collision
Typical shift in the radio room, and standing watch
On the Keystoner; responding to a distress call from a tug boat on fire near the Panama Canal, picks up survivors and brings them into San Francisco
Growing up in Brooklyn, NY; working as a projectionist at the New Amsterdam theater on 42nd Street
Radical politics at sea and along the NYC waterfront; Communist leaders of the maritime affiliate of the American Communications Association, later the American Radio Association
Political career, opposition to Free Trade Agreement and outsourcing; temporary work in NYC garment district, runs for Congress in Florida as an Independent Socialist
Political life, history of involvement with the Communist party, brought to testify before HUAC
Career as a designer for a radio paging company in NYC
Seamen's papers confiscated by the FBI, returned to sea in 1951 as a radio operator
Received security clearance to sail on MV CAPE TEXAS in 1991, sailed until 2011
Discusses decision to join merchant marine in 1944 as an 18-year-old, Samuel Gompers Vocational High School, received his commercial radio license at PS 20: Maritime Training School
Drafted, but rejected based on his eyesight; discusses desire to be involved in the war effort
Receives combat bar on first voyage in the Mediterranean during March 1944; manning the radio during an attack on his convoy
First foreign port in Sicily carrying vehicles and ammunition, and German missiles back to the U.S. after the War
Lantern Slide images of vessel types and specific significant vessels in the development of marine transportation
Education at Fort Schuyler, decision to pursue a career in the maritime industry
State of American merchant shipping, competition from foreign markets, negative impact of the Jones Act
Foreign-built ships and outsourced labor
Pressure to comply with MLC2006 in foreign ports, decision for Vanuatu ships to comply, thoughts on why the U.S. has not signed
Coursework at Fort Schuyler, decision to pursue Deck Department, going to sea during summers, exploring port cities in Europe
Graduating and entering the job market, first voyage on a grain ship, unloading grain in Croatia, first paycheck
Sailing on American ships, losing a job in 2008 during the market collapse, taking jobs on oceanographic survey ships
Working for Maersk on varying contracts, decision to take a job on land, comparable experiences of classmates at Fort Schuyler
Current work with Vanuatu Maritime Services in New York City registering ships under the Vanuatu flag, ensuring vessels comply with International Maritime Organization regulations, complying with the Maritime Labor Convention 2006
Difference in sailing with new regulations and technology on ships, disconnect between seafarers and international organizations, thoughts on international maritime standards
History of international maritime standards
The Breakwater Hotel was operated by SCI from 1908-1913.
black and white photograph and lantern slides
Training on the VINDICATRIX, eating conditions, lighting on the ships
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Machine guns onboard; fixing up the ship; working on converted German tanker in 1945
Segregation onboard; fixing the steering
Working onboard the Liberty ship SS SAM DART in 1944; coffee pots, breaking ice
Working on the SS SAM DART, sailing from Naples to Baltimore, dealing with a storm while sailing through the Mediterranean Sea
Sailing back home, stopped sailing in 1946
Replacing parts on the JOHN W. BROWN; leaking steam
First voyage after restoration; checking the compasses, getting lost in the bay
Trial voyages; being at the wheel, dealing with the waves, watching the water
End of training, waiting in the reserve pool; first job aboard a reefer ship in 1942
Docking in Delaware Bay; talking while being at the wheel
Being a deckhand, sleeping conditions; submarines; convoys
Protection on the sea, corvette ships, World War I destroyers
Convoys, working on a Dutch ship in the engine room
Sleeping conditions; duties aboard, serving the crew their meals; seagulls
Raw fish; engine room, observing the convoy at night; working on the STAD ARNHEM
Casting off from the Port of Immingham; steering the STAD ARNHEM; loading and transporting lumber; fishing
Returning to England in 1943; transporting coal, unloading in Casablanca
Brooklyn Station was operated by SCI from 1904-1907.
Background, living in Western Kentucky, working on the river for the first time; Ingram Barge Company
Change of command over the years, fear versus respect; treatment of workers
Human resources, training efficiency; still learning
Title Grimm, Les - Clip 1 Description Background on family Creator Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey Date 2014 April 14 Rights Seamen’s Church Institute provides digital access to materials from its Archives for educational and research purposes. Responsibility for determining copyright status of and securing permission to use an item rests with the person desiring to use the material.
Technology onboard over the years, in the pilothouse; romanticizing and reflecting on the old days; utilizing experience versus today
On Rev. Kempton Baldridge; simulator training at Seamen’s Church Institute; towboating, book learning versus hands-on experience
Reflecting about work over the years, closing thoughts
Siblings; working on a barge today; emphasis on safety
Background on parents; accidents on the job
Growing up in western Kentucky on a dairy farm; schooling; summer jobs, first experience working on a barge
First trip on the river pumping barges, stories about crew mates pulling pranks
Earning respect onboard, learning and working on deck, training
Summary of jobs since 1974, Ingram Barge Company, started working at Cargo Carriers in 1980, Mississippi Towing
Process for obtaining a first mate’s license; Cargo Carriers; returns to Ingram Barge Company
Working at Ingram Barge Company; thoughts on going shoreside
SCI owned property within Cedar Grove cemetery to bury merchant mariners without relatives.
lantern slides and negatives
Chris Svendsen at 241 Water Street Exhibit Gallery
Mariner Chris Svendsen observing ship models at Water Street Galleries, which exhibited ship models, oil paintings, prints, and engravings.
Getting into the oil industry as a merchant seamen, first day on the job
Family background; joining the Marine Corps in 1969 and going to Vietnam; joins Zapata Marine Services in 1979; worked for Vita Chemical Tankers
Running out of fuel, cleaning fuel filters; Cameron, Louisiana Coast Guard inspection; towing a vessel to the Caribbean; Vancouver
Iran/Iraq tanker wars, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company; working during Desert Storm at Ras Tanura, explosions at night
Mutiny on board, the day before the war; drilling for a dummy corporation
Working in the midst of Desert Storm/Desert Shield; operating without official authorization or recognition from U.S. government
Working and studying through the 1990s; Masters, Mates, and Pilots
Obtaining an unlimited chief mate's license; working and sailing on container ships, working for Sea-land and Central Gulf; transporting cars
Heading east, ports and shore leave; traveling on a grain ship to Bangladesh; piracy
Dealing with piracy, preparation against pirates at sea
Working on U.S. Navy oceanographic research vessels mapping the ocean floor; turning down the position of commander
Becoming a company man with American President Lines in 2009
Accident on the job; obtaining a Certificate of Inspection; resigning
Having an epiphany off the coast of Miami; retiring
Looking back on life and career; what the future will hold
Describing the speed of an offshore oil vessel; tracking Russian submarines
Towing icebergs off Greenland; offshore oil drilling ships, working with Inuit
Transporting workers, Billy Pugh system; offshore oil drilling technology; drilling off the Baltimore Canyon in 1981
Drilling after World War II using U-Boats; sophisticated equipment on vessels
Communication with family while at sea; keeping the coal-fire stove going; sending mail
Going up river in Nigeria; sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a tow, broken air conditioner; Devil’s Island; Trinidad
Clarence G. Michalis was a member of SCI’s Board of Managers from 1924-1969. Michalis served as President from 1932-1957 and as Chairman from 1958-1969.
Includes entries from visitors to Coenties Slip, where SCI operated an outpost beginning in the 1850s and ending in 1906. Also included are entries from SCI's Missionary at Large, first established with the Rev. E.F. Remington in 1852, succeeded by the Rev. Robert J. Walker in 1859.
Board of Managers of the Protestant Episcopal Church Missionary Society for Seamen in the City and Port of New York
Includes entries from visitors to Coenties Slip, where SCI operated an outpost beginning in the 1850s and ending in 1906. Also included are entries from SCI's Missionary at Large, the Rev. Robert J. Walker. Of particular note is the marginalia and drawings of Alfred Montgomery, address 34 Pike Street, where SCI operated an outpost from 1869-1906.
Includes entries from visitors to Coenties Slip, where SCI operated an outpost beginning in the 1850s and ending in 1906. Also included are entries from SCI's Missionary at Large, the Rev. Robert J. Walker.
Board of Managers of the Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society for Seamen in the City and Port of New York
Includes entries from visitors to Coenties Slip, where SCI operated an outpost beginning in the 1850s and ending in 1906. Also included are entries from SCI's Missionary at Large, the Rev. Robert J. Walker and entries from Walker's successor, the Rev. Isaac Maguire, beginning on June 16, 1872.
Includes entries from visitors to Coenties Slip, where SCI operated an outpost beginning in the 1850s and ending in 1906. Also included are entries from SCI's Missionary at Large, the Rev. Isaac Maguire.
Background, growing up in Barlow, KY, working for farmers, starts working on the river
First voyage, leaving college, obtaining license, working on the Illinois River as a pilot
Going shoreside, developing a steersman program; on the job injuries and accidents, safety standards
Being a port captain, going on sabbatical; being SCI’s Director of Inland Training, discussing the program
Safety programs over the years; operating World War II surplus equipment, searchlights, navigation
Working with Seamen’s Church Institute; the flood of ‘93, receiving Al Gore’s Hammer Award
Cornerstone Laying Ceremony for the 25 South Street Annex
Rt. Rev. William T. Manning, Edmund L. Baylies, Adm. William S. Sims and Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield are shown at the cornerstone dedication service for the 25 South Street Annex on November 5, 1925
Childhood interest in the river; Massachusetts Maritime Academy, living on the training ship USS NANTUCKET
Graduating from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, flying to first interview for Exxon; navigation technology, radar
Teaching at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, class subjects
Exxon Hondo platform, loading offshore; working on the EXXON JAMESTOWN, working in Alaska
Micro-managing; changing after the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill
Communications, GDF SUEZ NEPTUNE; working at Massachusetts Maritime Academy; changes in the industry
The industry today, advice, closing thoughts
Damaged boats including Cape Race on May 24, 1950; Cape North on May 24, 1950 and August 17, 1950; and Cape Donlen on May 25, 1950.
The Danish Seamen's Club was opened in February 1945 in SCI's headquarters at 25 South Street.
Background, family; working for Bloomfield Steamship Company at age seventeen
Sailing runs in the family, working for SeaLand, Malcolm McLean, McLean Trucking Co.
Working with American Merchant Marine Veterans Association
Carrying lions as cargo; carrying cyanide tanks
Staying at Seamen’s Church Institute; Maersk; working for SeaLand
Started working for SeaLand in 1966, speed of cargo ships
Differences before container ships; working on the SS SEALAND GALLOWAY
Quarters on SeaLand ships; structural damage from speeding
Crane accident in Bremerhaven; pilfering and containerization
Retiring in 2000; steam turbine engines; elected to leadership in Offshore Division of Masters, Mates, and Pilots in the 1990s
Devens began serving on SCI's board of managers in 1958.
Activities of the department included the Argo Merchant Liberian Inquiry with Jan D. Uiterwyk, which was held in the Ship Model Room on the third floor.
Childhood in Massachusetts, family; entrance into Massachusetts Nautical School, training on school ship, graduation in 1940
Second trip out from New York City to Iran in January 1943, separates from the convoy to deliver cargo; witnesses explosion of Arthur Middleton, hit by torpedo while in port, 53 dead and 3 survivors
Cargo of gasoline and bombs; accident in which a bomb fell through the hold of the ship, misses convoy to New York City as a result
Trip from New York City to England on the SS Pennsylvanian as second mate in May 1943, replacing a life boat; salvaging damaged ships; sinking of Christopher Newport
Captain's illness; being on the bridge during attacks
Trips from New York to Liverpool, discussion of photographs, SS Pennsylvanian; sailing in waters with no submarines without knowing it; sailing without convoy
Description of work, description of work schedule
Instructions to strip SS Pennsylvanian for D-Day invasion to be used as a block ship; mistake of a chief mate
Experience as a Naval Reservist, decision to stay with the merchant marine; discussion of military service
Sailing from Glasgow to the beachhead at Normandy in late June 1944; adjacent ship hits a mine; keeping the ship at even keel; watching the deliberate sinking of the Pennsylvanian; taken ashore to a barracks for the night
Bused to a summer resort; celebratory mood of civilians in town; leaving for home on the SS Argentina from Southampton
First job as fourth mate with American Hawaiian Lines; trip in July 1941 from New York City with war material to Port Sudan on Arkansan; in port at Cairo when Germans bomb the port
Training on the USS Nantucket at the Massachusetts Nautical School; learning traditional navigation techniques
Dreams about time at sea, his interpretations as to their meaning
Incident in which the FBI inspected a liberty ship, confiscated documents
Thoughts on the Navy; description of clothing worn as a mariner; getting along with Naval gunners on ships
Celebrating V-E Day in Long Beach, CA; celebrating the New York City ticker tape parade from the ship; staying at the Seamen's Church Institute
Going back to sea in 1981; last voyage in 1985, incident with a sick passenger; delivering cargo to Egypt; retirement
Trip on the liberty ship Samuel Chase as third mate; description of construction process for liberty ships; loads cargo of dynamite in Baltimore, MD; apprehensions about the war, comfort in spirituality
Reaches Reykjavik, Iceland on June 1, 1942, sails in “coffin corner” of 37 ship convoy; attacked by German submarines, witnesses a torpedo nearly miss his ship, sink ship next to him; a second near miss
Under dive-bombing attack, ushered to secret port while surviving convoy proceeds to Archangel; picks up convoy to return to U.S., loss of ships in the night
Desolation at secret Russian port; reaction of communist crewmembers
Fate of the convoy, a ship that ran aground on ice who painted their ship white as camouflage
Delivering cargo; more ships lost to German submarines; return to New York from Belfast in October
Description of Naval armed guard; arming the guns with German planes overhead; description of miracles
Graduates from Maine Maritime Academy in 1968; first job with American Export Lines, first voyage on EXPORT BAY as third mate; chasing a submarine through the Mediterranean; sending a message in a bottle
Sailing to India, LNG ships in 1976; training in the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
American Export Lines, EXPORT BUILDER, sailing from New Orleans to Bangladesh; encountering reproductions of Columbus’ ships at sea; pet monkey
Second mate on “D-Ships”; sailing to Egypt on the EXPORT COURIER, forty days in Alexandria; EXPORT CHAMPION, tenth wedding anniversary at sea
American Export Lines sold to Farrell Lines; union issues; working on LNG ships, ARIES, working for Texaco as chief mate; Working for El Paso Marine
Sailing on passenger ship as Captain, California heat; Palm Springs
Sailing on a Navy sealift tanker, electrical fire onboard; USNS SANTA CLARA repossessed in San Francisco in 1986; Captain of the KATAHDIN at Moosehead Lake
Closing thoughts; being away from family; life lessons
Sailing to Lipari Island; NYC longshoremen strike; job on EXCLESIOR, Venice; downtown Baltimore; watching movies in a submarine
Muddy banks in Seville, Spain; drinking story
Sailing on the ADMIRAL CALLAHAN, gas turbine engines; sailing on the EXPORT ADVENTURER
Sailing on the LIGHTNING; man overboard in storm at sea
Being on radar watch, iceberg; near-miss story
Marine hospital in Staten Island, sailing on the EXPORT LEADER as third mate; Piraeus, Greece; playing golf with the Captain
Sailing on the BROOK as chief mate to Leningrad
Sailing in the North Sea, encountering sea ice outside of Leningrad; transporting farm tractors; laying the ship; a “flying saucer” in the Bermuda Triangle
ELLEN F. McALLISTER tug boat; coal-burning steam tug boats; accident unloading coal; LST engines in McCallister tugboats
Moving barges loaded with coffee to Maxwell House piers on Christmas Eve during a storm
Difference between mates, captains, and pilots; licenses, navigating New York Harbor
Story about a “gentleman” pilot from down South who did not work out
Conversations with son about food; cooks on tugboats
Families living on barges on Columbia Street in Brooklyn
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McAllister’s dredging operations; towing steel for the Tappen Zee and Verrazano bridges
Old piers along the Battery in Manhattan; United Fruit Company ships backing out off the piers without tugboats; a near-accident
Serving as a paratrooper during the Korean War; returning home and working at Pier 44 in Red Hook, Brooklyn repairing U.S. Army transports; getting a job as a deckhand with a Cornell Steamship Co. tugboat
Resentment from crew mates, quitting Cornell Steamship Co.; picking up a job on the RUSSELL 20 tug in full Army gear, meeting Walter Hughes
Running up Erie Canal, Connecticut Sound, Great Lakes with Russell Brothers; leaving a job in Toledo, taking a deckhand job on the McALLISTER 41 in Brooklyn
Towing barges for McCallister; working as a dispatcher, description of work, ease of transition shoreside; buying out Russell Brothers in 1963; buying out Dalzell Towing Co. in 1965
Thoughts on pilots; growth of McAllister fleet, losing an account
Running the pilot pool for McAllister and Dalzell; working as a salesman for McAllister, attending parties
Industry changes, regulations, bigger tugboats
Description of typical workday as a dispatcher
Childhood in Massachusetts, Newburyport, family, sea scouts; decision to leave town and enroll in Massachusetts Nautical School (Mass Maritime); failing physical exams at USCG and Navy; training on USS Nantucket
28 days as a German prisoner; interrogated about European politics, personal background; likeability of captors
Drawings done while a prisoner; keeping busy while a prisoner; studying the German ship
Reunions between German captors and Duffy in Germany
Experience onboard German raider; transferred to Uckermark to Java, handed over to Japanese
Prisoner of war in Java at British military prison camp; moved to former Dutch infantry barracks; conflict with Japanese camp Lieutenant; decision to volunteer for transfer
Daily life in the prison camps; interaction with elder Dutch officers; learning Dutch
Leaves camp for Singapore railway construction job (10% loss of life); abuse of Japanese interpreters
Completion of the Sumatra railway at the end of the war; interaction with Japanese at the end of the war
Inspections at the Sumatra camp; decision to delay evacuation of American prisoners; escaping the camp by truck and leaving for Singapore on an Australian plane
Waiting for an American troop transport plane in Singapore; smuggling food into camp
Aided by a WSA administrator and fellow Massachusetts Nautical School alumnus; transported back to Long Island, NY and seamen's hotel in Manhattan in October, 1945
Returning to the United States Lines, first back of his crew; decision to go back to sea
Public opinion against the merchant marine during and after the war
State of the postwar American merchant marine; decision to take business courses at Columbia University; career after the merchant marine; work in marine industries and as a steamship agent; retirement in 1991
Start of World War II; training as officers in Caribbean; Summer '41 in Azores and the Caribbean; Graduation September 1941, expansion of the merchant marine
Took a job as an 8-12 watch officer with United States Lines in New York City on the MS American Leader; transition from a cadet to an officer
Trip to Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Manila; spotting an American submarine in the Pacific; benefits of his training
Coming into port at Los Angeles; taking on two passengers bound for Hawaii on special Navy orders weeks before Pearl Harbor; sailing for Australia without a convoy; dropping cargo in Australia; coming back to New York as one of the first ships back from the Pacific
Trip to the Persian Gulf; keeping charts on the Pacific trip
Trip out to Persian Gulf on MS American Leader to Trinidad without convoy, then to Cape Town, Indian Ocean; loading rubber in Sri Lanka
German raiders in the South Atlantic; leaving Cape Town without a convoy; running into a raider on the way to South America; sunk by a German Raider, 11 killed, surviving on a float, picked up by Germans; 47 prisoners (September 10, 1941)
The Dutch Seamen's Club opened in 1940 in SCI's headquarters at 25 South Street. Photos of the club's wall mural are included along with Jean Hersholt, Lauritz Melchior, and Victor Borge.
SCI operated the East River Station from 1869-1906
Edmund F. Wagner began serving as Chairman of the Board for the Seamen's Bank for Savings in 1959.
Edmund L. Baylies was President of SCI from 1913 until his death on April 29, 1932.
black and white photograph, memorial tablet
Edward Thompson Taylor (1793-1871), known as "Father Taylor" became the missionary in charge of the Seamen's Bethel in Boston (Mass.) in 1830.
engraving
Growing up in Missouri with his four brothers; his father's store
Picks up artillery cargo from Sidney, then to Hilandia? where the harbor was full with ships preparing for the invasion of the Phillippinnes
Back to San Francisco, pays off on January 4, 1945 and ships out from New York City on the troop ship Mariposa, gets his camera confiscated and is interrogated as a suspected spy
Liverpool and Cherbourg first voyage; Algiers and Naples, second voyage; Marseilles and Naples, third voyage; Cherbourg and Le Havre, fourth voyage
Just misses his oldest brother, enlisted in the Army Air Force, who had been held as a prisoner of war in Le Havre; returns home to visit his family; difficulty of communicating with his family during wartime
Liberty ship Robert E. Perry ships coal to Liverpool when the bombs drop on Japan; goes on a date with some local girls in Liverpool, walks home in the middle of V-J celebrations. (July-August)
Recalls showing his wife the Engine Room of the John Brown in Baltimore, MD
Robert E. Perry was the fastest Liberty ship ever built (4 days, 15 hours, 29 minutes); discusses the hasty construction of Liberty ships
From Staten Island to Yokohama, picks up 19 troops and brings them home to San Francisco, leaves on New Year's Eve back to Staten Island
Sailed on the Liberty Ship William M. Stewart (Oiler as opposed to fireman/watertender), ships coal to Montevideo, Uruguay, then picks up wheat from Argentina; Chief Engineer passes away and body examined for foul play in Portugal en route to Belgium (Lend-Lease program)
Oren N. Roberts, ships coal from Philadelphia to Copenhagen, Denmark, back through Le Havre (Fall 1946); seamen go on strike in the U.S. so ship sent down St. Lawrence seaway to pick up wheat from Montreal, shipped to Glasgow, Scotland; pays off in Galveston, Texas November 27, 1946
Graduates high school and takes a job waiting tables on a dredge boat on the Mississippi River; hears advertisements to join the merchant marine, decides to join and is confident that FDR will grant merchant marine GI Bill rights
Life after the merchant marine: education as a linotype operator; career in a printing offices; lay offs due to technology (cold type to hot type); career as a wedding photographer; retires in 1993
Decision to leave the merchant marine: lack of desire to make a career at sea
Traveling with his wife during retirement
St. Louis to Sheepshead Bay, and five weeks of training on Chesapeake Bay; decides to work in the engine department
Reasons why he joined the merchant marine as opposed to the Navy (4:17, “sinking in NY Harbor”)
Finishes training and is sent out to San Francisco to wait for a ship; sent up to Port of Chicago (north of SF), nearly misses a fatal explosion (Port of Chicago disaster) from unloading dangerous cargo
Shipping small reconnaissance aircraft from Long Beach, CA to Brisbane, Australia on the Liberty SS FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR;; sails as Wiper in the Engine Room, reads about the invasion of Normandy on the same day his ship arrives in Australia
Transferring explosive cargo from a wrecked ship in Brisbane to New Guinea and various island ports
On Island (beyond New Guinea), explores the island with deckhand friend, horsing around with grenades and smoke bombs they found in an army dump
On island off New Guinea, deep harbor with a floating dock, incident with bombs falling off his truck
Example Census Record - 52 Market Street, 1900
Example Cover from The Lookout
The first Floating Church of Our Savior, moored at the foot of Pike Street in 1844 and in operation until 1868. The Church was converted from the ferryboat MANHATTAN and presided over by the Rev. Benjamin C. C. Parker.
Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society for Seamen in the City and Port of New York
Lantern Slides illustrated with national flags
The Dayton-Hudson Corporation organized a three-day-long flower show on Wall Street in 1969. Proceeds from the event went to SCI.
Coast Guard bootcamp in New Orleans in 1941
Escorting the Army upriver in Iceland following Germans to German radio station
Cutting ice during the War; accident with the boom snapping
Inuit communities, giving them wood from shipping crates
Army bases across the Arctic Circle; Army men marrying Inuit women
Beginning of career with the Merchant Marine
Starting as a fireman with Exxon; received training in Boston, earns First Class license
Using the evaporator to make fresh water
Investing in Exxon; treatment of employees
Retirement at age 80 after 47 years at sea
Working on a buoy tender on the Great Lakes
Exxon’s treatment of employees: meals, holidays, ban on alcohol, movies
Life on board, getting along with the crew
Leaving from Duluth, MN in a Coast Guard cutter and iceberg breaker to Greenland for two years; bringing iron ore to automobile factories on the Great Lakes
Beginning of World War II; working on the St. Lawrence River; relationship with river communities
Returning to Germany in 1947, Japan in 1946
In Nagasaki five years after the War, Mayor greets his ship
Being a picket line captain on strike in San Francisco in 1946
Membership with National Maritime Union and the fight for worker's rights
On his first voyage, picking up troops for the pending invasion of Japan
Hearing about the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan while at sea
Hearing about the end of the War in a French port
Sinking of the freighter EXANTHIA in 1947
Employment with the Seamen’s Church Institute
Growing up in the Lower East Side of New York City
Franklin D. Roosevelt served on SCI’s Board of Managers from 1908 until his death in 1945.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute of Maritime and General Studies
The institute was housed at 15 State Street, SCI's headquarters from 1968-1985.
Childhood and family; working for the United States Steel Corporation as an apprentice machinist; becoming a locomotive repairman, begins working at United States Steel Corporation Mobile Equipment Mechanics apprentice training school
Workers stealing, catching them in the act
Differences for managers, helping workers; a knack for engineering
Training workers; troubleshooting and learning
Advice for future engineers and mechanics; looking back on teaching
Equipment at the school, training, ending the apprenticeship programs; Ohio Barge Line, goes to work in Pittsburgh in 1975
Begins working for Ingram Barge Company in 1981; begins working at McGinnis Inc. Shipyard in South Point, OH; back to Paducah in 2002 for vessel maintenance
Ingram Barge Company buys Midland Barge Company; helping workers transition from Midland to Ingram
Working on engines; relationship between management and workers; troubleshooting
EMD 645 engine, improving on locomotive and towboat engines
The future of commercial engines, algae fuel
Comradery on board, disciplining workers
Misconceptions about the merchant marine
Sailing on the SS MARINE ELECTRIC before it sank; thoughts on changes in the industry, professionalization of crews
Working on different types of ships; thoughts on changes in crews, life at sea
Going into port in the old days; changes in shore leave, offloading cargo; changes in regulation, communication, management
Working for Maritime Overseas Corporation; sailing on a prepositioning ship carrying diesel fuel to Diego Garcia; waiting in port for six months at the Philippines
Firing crew who broke rules in port; working on the same ship for seventeen years
Story about a seaman who tried to bring a monkey onboard ship
Parties in different ports; feeling depth charges in the engine room during the Vietnam War; changes in regulating drug and alcohol use
Sailing on SL-7s, stress; attempting to get off the PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND
Sailing through Valdez; sailing through a storm, losing power
Graduation from Maine Maritime Academy in 1970, decision to pursue a career in the merchant marine; work on USNS ships at Thule, Greenland; difficulty finding permanent work
Sun Oil Co.; accident in the engine room
Thoughts on retirement; transitioning to life shoreside; starting a business; philanthropy
Thoughts on common characteristics of seamen; thoughts on living history
Taking his wife on ship; passing along stories to children
Work on station ships during the Vietnam War; work on ships in the Far East
Difficulty finding work, taking medical relief jobs; moving around, working in different industries; moving to different port towns, resistance from local unions
Moving up in grades, sailing as chief engineer with Sea-Land in 1977; transition to container boxes on T-3 tankers
Working alongside experienced seamen who had come up the hawspipe; experience on first voyage on USNS YUKON; confrontations with older shipmates
Asking Port Engineer at Sea-Land for a job as chief engineer, argument over age and experience; getting chief engineer’s license, getting a job with Sea-Land in Rotterdam
A port strike lays up the ship; sailing across Europe and the Middle East with a replacement crew; getting even with an old enemy
Working for Sea-Land on SL-7s; thoughts on Sea-Land
Looking back on professional career, various jobs, 1970s-1980s, takes job at Ingram Barge Company; father retires; working at Seamen’s Church Institute
Seamen’s Church Institute; working with the Coast Guard
Thoughts on profession today; entering the profession; support system at Seamen’s Church Institute; common sense
Being a mentor at Seamen’s Church Institute, learning from case studies
New York City being the hub of the river industry; impacting the job market
Looking toward retirement; working with Vanderbilt University
Closing thoughts and reflection; on success
Reflections on traveling via the rivers, Great-Grandfather and the shore community; day for day schedule, wages
Types of people working in the river industry, riding the river boat as a young boy, aspirations
Obtaining license and working for a tug service in 1975; helping and being accepted by the older mariners
Initiation, mentoring, becoming a family, keeping in touch
Family life, having a support system; communicating while away; making the job a good one
Safety on the job, descriptions of safety over time
Maids and daymen onboard; crew members, downsizing; types and sizes of the barges, new technology
Background, joining the marines and the draft; working in the automobile industry after the war
Starts working on the river with American Commercial Barge Lines; first voyage working as a cook
Picking up groceries, being a cook; family
Taking early retirement; getting along with the crew
Accidents; traveling through the lower end of the river, scenery; picking up groceries
Looking back on the industry; getting a job; culture surrounding the river; being home, family
Thoughts on the river in present day; being careful on deck; downtime
Calling home; looking back on being a cook
Looking back on the marines and the Vietnam War, communications; combat missions
Background; family, as a child riding on a tug for the first time
Going shoreside, studying your craft; making a difference
Moving on from your mistakes, on quitting school; family life
Advice for newcomers; reflections on the industry from past to present; safety and experience
Education; on leaving school and working on the river, learning
Skipping school and cleaning barges; family in the industry, father working on boats, growing up
Family life; first trip out; Tennessee Valley Towing
Learning the feel of the boat; mastering your craft, reading the river
Reading charts, navigating, river conditions
Looking back on career, becoming a pilot; having the same name as his father
First job as a pilot; Huffman Towing; Ingram Marine Group
Working on barges alongside his family transporting war materials as a 10 year old during WWII
Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey
Difficulty in getting access to records from the National Maritime Center
Lack of awareness about the merchant marine, barge seamen
History of barge vessels and barge companies
Work with the National Archives to get recognition for women who worked on barges
95202 and the merchant marine's fight for recognition as veterans
His mother and sister's attempt to get sea papers in New York in 1942
Barge communities tied up alongside each other in port
Day-to-day work on the barge: cooking, deck work, engine room work, loading and unloading coal, washing down the deck
Waiting for a tug, painting the barge gray, dim-out during wartime
Trading coal dust for food, pigeon stew, rationing
Shipping from Norfolk, VA to New England, transporting different cargo
Port of New York, buying groceries in Red Hook
Threat of submarines from Norfolk to New York
Death of his brother Billy, his tug MENOMINEE sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Virginia in March 1942, survivors picked up by NOTHERN SUN
Effort to track down records of women and children on coastwise tugs, attempt to get Congress to recognize barge seamen as veterans
Introduction, childhood, parents working for Hoagland Barge Line Co.; siblings, working on the river in 1971
Sobriety on the boat, being saved, routine in daily life
Working on the river at 18 years old in 1971, Malloy Marine Services; starting out cleaning barges, from deckhand to pilot at 20 years old; serendipity
Working on first boat SIPSEY with a crew of two people; training with Cliff and “Tommy” Griggs; transitioning to line boats
Learning skills; marrying at 30 years old, being sober for 21 years, life experience
Protocol in the wheelhouse, learning skills the hard way
Captain at 27 years old on the AP CALHOUN, JR; jet boats; being on the same vessel for 30 years, learning the river
“Sweating Bullets”, fear and overcoming it, making mistakes
Clinton Railroad Bridge incident and learning from it; accident in the coal room; a bolt of lightning on Christmas day in 1989
On faith and the road to sobriety, revelation in the chapel, finding hope
Working on tugboats with his step-father in the 1930s; joining the Army in 1943, joining the paratroopers; fighting overseas, surviving the Waal River Crossing
Training at the Seamen’s Church Institute radar school; taking the captain’s exam
Falling overboard and swimming for two hours to the lighthouse in Bridgeport, CT
Tornado on Lake Erie, damage to the tugboat and barges; competition with other companies
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Coming home from overseas, returning to work in the harbor, getting his Captain’s license; working for Russell Brothers; marriage and wife
Coming shoreside to work in the office at Russell Brothers and Bronx Towing Line; working as a consultant in hospitality services; retirement
Returning from overseas, running from Bucksport, Maine to New York City with newsprint for the New York Times on the RUSSELL 19
Sailing coastal voyages during wartime; navigating through the submarine nets in New York Harbor and Long Island Sound; sailing as a deckhand with a daredevil captain
An accident near Troy, NY, losing a barge down on a dam; trying to save the barge, evacuating the town
Getting his high school diploma; working as a dispatcher, knowledge of the harbor, rapport with captains
Towing a cargo of molasses on the RUSSELL 20 from Bermuda; work schedule
Thoughts on unions; returning from overseas and having trouble getting his union card back in New York City
Port cities in Central and South America, the Merchant Marine Library Association
Keeping watch in port, schedule and free time in port, restrictions in certain ports
Shore leave in foreign ports, Bremerhaven in 1946
1950 works as Oiler on the Staten Island Ferry, drafted into Korean War, stationed in Germany for 18 months
Difference between landlocked jobs and life at sea
Returns to NYC to work for Department of Public Works on “sludge boats” from 1952-1977, description of sludge boats and sewage plants
Description of New York City water and sewage system, process of treating sewage
Description of working life on the sludge boats, gets Engineer's and Chief Engineer's licenses
Operating the sludge boats, working culture on the sludge boats
Goes to work for the Coast Guard ferry to Governor's Island, description of Governor's Island
Typical workday on the ferry to Governor's Island
Difference between blue water trips and offshore of river trips with sludge boats and ferries, effects on family
Volunteering at the South Street Seaport Museum and the Kings Point American Merchant Marine Museum
Getting involved with the American Merchant Mariners Veterans Association and the South Street Seaport Museum
Interesting sights and stories on the sludge boats and ferries
Sense of community with the crew on the sludge boats
Training for steward department at Sheepshead Bay in 1945, staying at the maritime pool in midtown Manhattan
End of the war, bringing troops back the the U.S.
Sailing as a gunner's messboy in the Pacific, Yokahama, trouble unloading cargo post-war
Gets entry-level rating in engine room, ships out for North Atlantic to Bremerhaven, decides to sail in the Caribbean
In port with supplies ready for invasion of Japan, learns about the surrender of Japan, shore leave for Navy Gunners in Seattle
With high school education, gets designated to track inventory
Promoted to Oiler, works for United Fruit Company and the Cuban Mail Company to Central and South America, gets ratings at Sheepshead Bay
International Seamen's Club 15th Anniversary
International Seamen's Club at 15 State Street
The International Seamen's Club was a meeting place that also held events, such as the Charles Rouse concert in May 1974 and the Halloween Dance in 1974, both pictured here. Rev. James R. Whittemore and members of the National Maritime Union are also pictured.
International Seamen's Club at 25 South Street
The International Seamen's Club was a meeting place that also held events. The filming of NBC documentary "The City of Ships" in 1964 is also pictured.
This annual event was held at SCI's Port Newark Station. Color photographs are from 1987, black and white photographs are from 1985.
United State Shipping Board Training Ship Iris, a steel steamer stationed at San Francisco, referenced in the September 1918 issue of The Lookout
Crew on the sludge boats, status of the jobs
J. Augustus Johnson was elected as Lay Manager to SCI’s Board of Managers in 1882. Johnson also served as Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and fought for seafarers’ legal protection. He succeeded in convincing Congress to pass the White Bill, which granted mariners comprehensive rights.
First job working for Getty as a saloon mess-boy; stretching a liberty ship; comfort-level, buying a world map; isolation on board, dealing with an all male crew
Male behavior toward a woman onboard; working for Spentonbush-Red Star as a cook, finding support with the crew
Picking up paycheck at Spentonbush-Red Star office in New York; dealing with the union
Working for Exxon on tugboats, being the relief cook
Dealing with complaints onboard, training as a cook, a day in the life of a cook on a ship
Leaving cooking job to finish college, wanting to work in the wheelhouse; staying at Seamen’s Church Institute
1975 accident on the Delaware River; risk at sea; life after the merchant marine
Sailing up along the coast with family, hurricane off the coast of North Carolina; taking the Coast Guard auxiliary course
College, going into the maritime field, eyesight
Women in the maritime field; political awareness of the field; learning
Doing contract work, dealing with a storm
Game room story; dealing with an all male crew
Having her photograph in the Getty newsletter; being the first woman crew member for Getty
James Slip at South Street, New York, NY
Janet Roper was SCI's House Mother from 1915 until her death in 1943. Also shown are Rev. Harold H. Kelley, Edith Baxter, and two envelopes addressed to Roper.
The Janet Roper club provided seafarers with a place to take their friends and families for entertainment and leisure activities. Pictured are Madeleine Carroll selling war bonds and stamps on September 23, 1943; a luncheon on May 18, 1954 with Clarence G. Michalis; Rev. Raymond S. Hall with Hy Gardner during the filming of the NBC television program “Tonight” in 1957; and volunteer Helen Adams talking to United States Coast Guard officer Joseph Pisarra.
Jeanette Park was located next to SCI's headquarters at 25 South Street
John H. G. Pell began serving on SCI's Board of Managers in 1936.
John Masefield was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967. Masefield is shown with his wife, Constance Crommelin, and with Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield on the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse at 25 South Street on Jan. 4, 1933. Masefield is also seen at a benefit in his honor at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 9, 1933.
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 1
JOHN W BROWN curriculum, traveling to the JOHN W BROWN, reasons for attending, interviewing process, grading
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 10
Gun tubs; state of Project Liberty Ship today
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 2
Faculty, departments, morning and afternoon groups; row boat team competitions
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 3
Graduating and receiving your degree, coursework, vocational training; Fort Schuyler and Kings Point; post-training for the JOHN W BROWN in New York City, Project Liberty Ship
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 4
Project Liberty Ship, James River Reserve Fleet, bringing the ship back to New York City
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 5
Basic ship training, tying knots; senior projects, painting the ship
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 6
Painting and renovating JOHN W BROWN in the 1980s; visiting the ship, becoming an electrician on board; retaining knowledge of the layout; traveling to the ship
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 7
Changes to Project Liberty Ship over the years; younger people on board
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 8
JOHN W BROWN High School Alumni - Clip 9
New York Harbor School; SS UNITED STATES
February 1943, attempts to join Marines at age 15, foiled by his aunt
Engine breaks down while waiting for convoy at Strait of Hormuz, goes to Port Sudan, returns to Norfolk, Va.
Torpedoed vessels, rumors about joining the invasion in Italy
Takes a job on a Hog Islander to South America, backs out because there was no action down there
Takes a job on a tanker to and from Aruba
Takes a job on a liberty ship, loads a Cadillac limousine for delivery in Normandy
Sees the V-1 rockets, “buzz bombs,” over the Thames in London
Half the crew given shore leave at Southampton, ordered to go to Utah beachhead at Normandy with the remaining half of the crew
Anchors at Normandy, unloads the limousine for Eisenhower
April 1943, leaves school for New York City, attempts to get his seamen’s papers
Gets shore leave at Cherbourg and meets up with other half of the crew
Discharges rest of cargo at Liverpool, loads Coast Guard patrol boats and returns to New York with Coast Guard crews who had participated in D-Day
Takes jobs on tankers to London, Venezuela
Takes job on troopship Edwin B. Alexander, army transport in July 1945, brings back Women’s Army Corps
Brings back 4,440 GIs from La Havre to New York
Sharing sleeping quarters with GIs, celebratory mood of the voyage home
In New York and Times Square when the War ends
Loads cargo of Wyoming horses in Houston, Tx.
Transporting supplies to Europe after the end of the War
Post-War Germany, bells on the docks and submarine parts
Sailing to Korea and Japan before the Korean War starts
Drafted in 1952 at age 27, joins the army
Sails on a ship in 1951 with radio equipment from Norfolk, Va. to Northern Greenland to supply a Cold War radar station
Goes to Detroit and gets a job as a porter on a Great Lakes paddle wheeler passenger ship
22, Experience getting a ship in New York, witnesses the accidental shooting of a shipmate, removed from a Murmansk-bound shop to serve as witness
Gets on a ship and leaves in convoy from Norfolk, Va. to the Persian Gulf
Assisting the Navy gun crews in handling the artillery shells
Discharging cargo in Khorrammshahr, Iran for the Russian army, 17th birthday
The Joseph Conrad Library was located at 25 South Street and 15 State Street, SCI's headquarters from 1913-1967 and 1968-1985, respectively. A bust and portraits of Joseph Conrad are included. Of particular note is the presentation of the Conrad Collection to the Joseph Conrad Library by B. Anne Papantonio, Executive Vice President of the Johnson Reprint Corporation, on April 11, 1983. Also shown are Frank Huntington, SCI’s Director of Education; SCI librarians Bonnie Golightly and Bob Wolk; and maritime historian Frank Braynard.
Growing up in Trinidad; coming to the U.S. as a war bride in 1949
Seeing the workers on deck on the ship from Trinidad to the U.S.
Her first job on the SS United States in tourist class; description of the work
Rules for conduct on the ship for the crew
Multiple voyages on the SS United States from 1965-1969 as a relief worker in different classes; work with other shipping companies
The Conservatory of New York’s work with the SS United States today; the ship’s current condition
Meeting her husband at a military base in Trinidad
Taking jobs on ships going to England to see relatives
Women working at sea; clothing inspections
New York ports compared with other ports around the world
Carrying ammunition to Korea on SS Export Courier
Work as a receptionist at a studio in Port-Au-Spain, Trinidad
Coming to the U.S. in 1949; leaving Trinidad while pregnant
Moving to England with her husband, who was transferred; having him transferred to Germany; returning to the U.S.; death of her husband
Children return to Trinidad; taking domestic work in New Jersey
Coming from England to D.C.; birth of her son
Description of the union halls in New York City
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1843 July 17 - 1844 June 30
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Includes entries detailing the first service at the Seamen’s Episcopal Chapel, founded above a grog shop at the corner of Pike and South Streets (July 17, 1843); the service surrounding the raising of the frame ceremony for the Institute’s first floating chapel (November 30, 1843); Rev. Parker’s sermon to more than one hundred seafarers regarding the wreck of the Sheffield (December 2, 1843); the peaceful and successful seafarers’ strike for higher wages that took place over December 3-10, 1843; the completion of construction on the Floating Church of Our Saviour and its consecration at Pike Street (February 14 and 19, 1844); overcrowding at the Church during its first months in service; general accounts of the exploitation of seafarers and the “almost daily recitals” that come to Rev. Parker’s ears; Rev. Parker’s doubts about continuing as the Institute’s Missionary; the decision by the Board to install Rev. Parker as Missionary on a permanent basis.
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1844 July 7 - 1845 November 9
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Includes entries detailing Rev. Parker’s visits to boarding houses (September 29, 1844); the breaking of the Church’s mooring chains in a storm (September 29, 1844); Rev. Parker’s attendance on the maiden voyage of the Clipper Ship Rainbow, for which he had secured a library of 200 volumes (February 1, 1845); the publication and distribution of the “Manual of Devotion;” damage done to the Church during a snowstorm (February 3, 1845); the time Rev. Parker spent in Boston in May of 1845 assisting in the location of a floating church for seafarers there (May 12, 1845); Rev. Parker’s trip to Albany in June of 1845 to see about building a new chapel at the North River (June 17, 1845); Rev. Parker’s trip to Dr. J.W. Francis at 1 Bond Street to be bled (September 1, 1845).
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1845 November 16 - 1846 November 23
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Includes entries detailing the donation from an unknown gentleman of $2000 for the first and projected second floating chapels (November 17, 1845); a visit from Capt. Hilliard, one of two survivors of the steamer Lexington, which sank off the coast of Long Island (November 23, 1845); a visit from Rev. Mr. Suddards as part of a Committee planning to build a floating chapel for seafarers in Philadelphia (November 30, 1845); the signing of a contract to build a floating chapel at the North River (February 7, 1846); a report on the moral pollution of New York City’s theaters (March 4, 1846); the funeral of J.R. Van Rensselaer, Vice President of the Society for Seamen (March 22, 1846); the finish of construction on the Church of the Holy Comforter, anchored at Dey Street, and the first services held there (September 28-29, 1846); the story of Charles Hernberg, a seafarer who became the Sexton of the Church of the Holy Comforter.
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1846 November 23 - 1848 June 16
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Entries detailing the scarcity of seafarers in port (November 29, 1846); Rev. Parker’s sermon on the wreck of the steamship Atlantic (December 20 and 27, January 3 and 10, 1846); Rev. Parker’s securing of the Atlantic bell and its engraving and exhibition (January 5-16, February 12 and 27, 1847); the story of William Hobdell of the ship Sir Robert, having lived among cannibals for nine years (April 20, 1847); a man overboard in front of the Church (June 13, 1847); Rev. Parker’s funeral sermon for the crew of the Auburn, wrecked off Barnegatt, Long Beach on September 25, 1847 (October 10, 1847); Rev. Parker’s sermon delivered to a black congregation at the Church of the Messiah (October 31, 1847); Rev. Parker’s sermon on the wreck of the ship Stephen Whitney, all hands lost on November 17, 1847 (December 19, 1847); Rev. Parker’s visit to William Chase, U.S. Consul at Good Hope to see the first native of Caffraria (South Africa) brought to the U.S. (February 6, 1848); Rev. Parker’s sermon delivered at the Seamen’s Mission Church in Boston (February 14, 1848).
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1848 June 16 - 1850 August 12
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Includes entries detailing the bestowing of the Freedom of the City to Frederick Jerome for rescuing fifteen people from the bowsprit of the burning ship New World and the attendance at the Church of the crew from the rescue boat involved (September 18, 24, and 28, 1848); the attendance of the Excelsior Tent and the Washington Marine Tent of the Independent Order of the Rechabites at the funeral of Charles Smith at the Church (November 26, 1848); the resolution of the Board to hold evening services at the Church and the first evening service held there (December 16, 1848 and February 25, 1849); Rev. Parker’s sermon to a black congregation at the Church of the Messiah at Houston Street (December 24, 1849); Rev. Parker’s attendance at the consecration of the Floating Church of the Redeemer in Philadelphia (January 9-11, 1849); accounts of baptisms, prayers and special services for seafarers preparing to sail for California hoping to cash in on the Gold Rush there; the attendance of Capt. Johnson and the crew of the brig Manhattan at the Church in thanks for being saved from shipwreck (April 1, 1849); Rev. Parker delivers Sermon on the Cholera amidst outbreak and calls for a Public Fast Day (July 29 and August 4, 1849); the conversion of boarding house owners at 45 James Street to temperance and the banning of liquor at that establishment (November 4 and 11, 1849); damage done to the Church by a brig (December 22, 1849); Rev. Parker’s sermon on the rescue of three hundred ninety-nine people from the ship Caleb Grimshaw by the bark Sarah with Captains from both ships in attendance (January 27, 1850); Rev. Parker’s accompaniment of his wife to Boston via the Hartford-New Haven Railroad, which commenced service in 1844 (May 27, 1850).
Journal of the Floating Church of Our Saviour 1850 August 18 - 1853 November 20
One of six journals of Rev. Benajmin C. C. Parker, Reverend at the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which operated on the waterfront at Pike Street from 1844-1866. Includes entries detailing the funeral of Capt. William Dayton, member of the Board of Managers (August 18, 1850); the decoration of the Church in Christmas greens (December 23-24, 1850); the unprecedented attendance of two hundred seafarers at the Church (October 5, 1851); the sermon of newly appointed “Missionary at Large” Rev. Mr. Remington delivered at the Church (March 14, 1852); the funeral of Atong, a Chinese seafarer from the ship N.B. Palmer (April 4, 1852); Rev. Parker’s attendance at the opening of a new building for children at Sailor’s Snug Harbor in Staten Island (June 3, 1852); Rev. Parker’s sermon at St. John’s Church, Yonkers, on the burning of the steamer Henry Clay ten miles from Fort Lee on July 26, 1852 (August 1, 1852); the sinking of the Church under the weight of snow on her roof (January 14, 1853); the services held at the reading room of the Sailor’s Home at 190 Cherry Street (January 16, 1853); the raising and repairing of the Church (January 17-22, 1853); the scarcity of seafarers in port (April 3-10, 1853); the damage done to the Church by the sloop Advocate (April 19, 1853); the return of Frederick Jerome, who rescued fifteen people from the burning ship New World in 1848, to the Church despite reports that he had been killed in St. Juan two years prior (September 18, 1853).
Works at the Brooklyn docks in 1963 as a carpenter and lasher
The new Seamen’s Church building in Port Newark
Moving cargo pre-containerization in the 1960s
Waterfront Commission’s regulation of the hiring halls
RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations laws)
Quality of career, gains made by the ILA and because of automation
Today’s globalized, automated economy, and the importance of distribution
Joins the Local 1 Checkers and Clerks union and works at Port Newark in the 1990s
Moving cargo in the Port during Desert Storm
Scanning freight with the Geiger counter
The change from old cargo-moving techniques to containerization
The International Longshoremen’s Association and similarities to the film “On the Waterfront”
Childhood in Boston; entrance into Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1971; first trip through the Panama Canal; joining Masters, Mates and Pilots; work on tankers; work on SS MARINE ELECTRIC
Man overboard; ship capsizing before life boats were launched; falling overboard and seeing the smokestack crashing down next to him, a mysterious hand saves him; death of his grandfather twenty years prior
Death of engineers; fear that the propellers were still moving in the water; sound of the storm and explosions; pitch blackness, flotsam and jetsam; ingesting oil in the water
Alone in the water; bumping into five other survivors clinging to a life ring; buckling life jackets to the life ring; deaths by hypothermia
Uncontrollable shivering, urinating to keep warm; prospects for rescue; seeing strobe lights of other life jackets
Coast Guard helicopter flies over, returns and hovers overhead; signaling the Coast Guard with a flashlight
Making a grab for the Coast Guard’s rescue basket; process of Coast Guard’s response, involvement of Navy rescue swimmer; being raised into the helicopter with second survivor
Coast Guard helicopter runs out of fuel, spots one more survivor; helicopter picks up third survivor
Story of the second survivor, Bob Cusick; what happened to the other two survivors after the accident; stories of deceased seamen and their families
Results of investigation into the sinking; fines against Marine Transport Lines, lack of resolution with Marine Transport Lines
Health problems after his rescue; returning to work after vacation with Keystone Shipping on the ENERGY INDEPENDENCE on same route as MARINE ELECTRIC
Third officer on SS MARINE ELECTRIC; events leading up to the accident that determined life or death
Labor disputes during the Reagan administration; work teaching at a vocational school
Fate of Phil Corl, Captain of MARINE ELECTRIC; bodies recovered; keeping memory alive with his daughter
Family history; professional history at sea; work as Chief Mate on VLCC tankers
Psychological impact, health problems after the sinking; reaction of family to news that he survived
Importance of safety training; speaking in front of Congress, industry reforms regarding survival suits and decommissioning WWII-era ships; sinkings of other WWII era ships
Creation of the Coast Guard rescue swimmers program; speaking to the Coast Guard, witnessing rescue swimmer drills
Staying at Seamen’s Church Institute, services provided; experiences in New York City
Loading the ship in Norfolk on February 9; leaving harbor in a moderate storm, worsening of the storm; distress signal from fishing vessel THEODORA, rescue by the Coast Guard
Rolling in thirty-five to forty foot seas, heading for deeper water; National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the SS MARINE ELECTRIC’s sinking
Seas coming up over the stern; keeping watch at 8pm; woken up at 0100 and summoned to the bridge
Seas coming over the bow; problems with the ship’s pumps; Captain’s communications with the Coast Guard
Watching from the bridge as water flooded over the bow; Captain’s orders to abandon ship; gathering equipment, preparing to abandon ship
Tripping the iPRO distress beacon; preparing life vests and life boats; heroic action of shipmate
Listing to starboard, starting to roll over; blowing the whistle to abandon ship; falling down a flight of stairs, throwing life rings; lowering the life boats
Beginning of career at sea, training on the JOHN W. BROWN 1954-1956
Difference between a government career and a union career
Relationship with Navy personnel on board
Work schedule, communication with family back home
The American Merchant Marine Veterans Association
Classes at the National Maritime Union (NMU) and the JOHN W. BROWN
Keeping watch as a spiritual experience, sailing in fog
Racism on ships, getting along with other seamen, officers; Fight with an officer
Supplying the Navy during times of conflict
Head injury at sea, struggle for compensation benefits
Growing up in New York City wanting to sail
Sailing with the Merchant Marine during World War II; Sailing on the liberty ship W.P. FEW, delivering supplies in the Pacific
The atom bomb and the end of the war, dumping cargo overboard
Registers with the Seafarers International Union (SIU), sails through the Panama Canal
Switches from the SIU to the National Maritime Union (NMU), sails in Asia during peace time
Sailing in the Pacific, the threat of Japanese submarines
Forming a committee to challenge the leadership of the NMU
Stowaway on a ship from Puerto Rico to the mainland
Violence at NMU meetings, fight with Joseph Curran’s son
Attempts to become a seaman at 14 years old, fails to get his papers
Joins the Civil Conservation Corp., works on a project in the Utah desert
Joins the Navy, places on a LST training ship, gets injured and receives honorable discharge
Thoughts on health, medicine, and history
Being a stowaway, catching rides on trains, cars, and trolleys
Liberty Ship Janet Lord Roper Ship Christening Ceremony
The SS Janet Lord Roper in Fairfield (Md.) ship christening was attended by Roper's daughter Marion and Rev. Harold H. Kelley.
Lantern slide showing what is likely 55 State St. in Charleston, SC at the corner of State and Cumberland. The building was severely damaged by a tornado in 1938
lantern slide & negative
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Concert
Joining the merchant marine on 18th birthday in 1943, training, first voyage on a T-2 tanker in September 1943 to Venezuela for oil
Encounter with man claiming to be employee of Dutch Royal Shell in Tampico, Mexico; same man leads submarine attack on his ship the next day
Transports fuel from Bayonne, NJ to the Azores and the UK; passing over the coordinates of the HMS HOOD; passing over the coordinates of the BISMARCK
Transporting fuel in Northern Africa, Italy, and the Persian Gulf through the Suez Canal through October 1944
Ships out for the Murmansk Run from Bayonne, NJ in a 37 ship convoy to Glasgow, Scotland; attacked after leaving Scotland, lost 17 ships out of 33
Reaches Murmansk, icebreakers lead them into Archangel, Russia; frozen-in from December 26 to end of March; unloading on sleds to the railroad
Heads into town with a friend – 13:22; 13:35 – train switched tracks and carried them 800 miles to Moscow, sent to a prisoner camp at St. Petersburg at bayonet-point
Discovered by a sympathetic guard, given a Russian snowmobile and escapes over 700 miles of tundra to a train in Konosha? back to their ship
A lucky encounter with a school of whales in Spring 1944
colored lantern slide of the Lusitania at sea
Born in Brooklyn in 1926, joining maritime service in 1944 after being rejected from armed services, training at Sheepshead Bay and as a radio operator on Hoffman Island
First voyage on the liberty Samuel Griffin to Savannah, GA, loaded prefabricated houses for displaced residents in England, sails to Tilbury Dock in London in 1945
V-1 and V-2 rockets in London, food rationing, delivering pre-fabricated houses
Loading 700 American troops in London, some scheduled to travel on to the West Coast for launch of the invasion of Japan, learning en route about the atomic bomb drop on Japan
Interacting with U.S. Army officers, returning to New York City, loading recovery cargo for Europe in Newport News, VA, sails to Naples, Italy, sings “Isle of Capri”
Shore leave in Italy, transporting whiskey
Typical workday as a radio operator, receiving a message about the birth of his daughter
Sails on the liberty SS Thomas J. Jarvis in 1945-1946 to Cherbourg, France, unloads coal by bucket
Sailing as a lone operator, sending and receiving messages
Loading coal in Galveston, Texas, sails for England, receiving a message from shore
Sailing to Antwerp then back to New York City
Takes exam for 2nd class radio telegraph license, waits for an assignment at the maritime pool, radio operators unions
Working for Socony Vacuum on oil tanker ships along the East Coast and South America, receives radar training at Sheepshead Bay
Decision to stop going to sea and to start a family, gets drafted on technicality into the U.S. Army, teaching and working at sea during the summers
Thoughts on exclusion from the GI Bill, thoughts on the sea
Training at Hoffman Island, learning Morse code
Decision to join the merchant marine, testing into radio operator training at Hoffman Island
Choosing to go to London on the liberty Samuel Griffin, experience being rejected from the armed forces
Desperation to get involved in the war, watching New York Harbor from his office on Wall Street
High school at Erasmus Hall, looking for classmates at Normandy Beach Cemetery
Marie Louise Bennett was personal secretary to Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield from 1910 until her death in 1921.
sepia photograph
The Marine Museum began on the third floor of 25 South Street in 1953 and continued exhibiting items donated by mariners and shipping lines until SCI relocated to 15 State Street in 1968. Photos show the museum as well as mariner Chris Svendsen building and observing ship models and Rev. John M. Mulligan inspecting museum objects.
Mariner 15 Bar & Lounge at 15 State Street
Joins US Navy in 1960; works shore side jobs, including for the International Trade Organization in NYC
Given a sextant by Seamen’s Church when the Joseph Conrad Memorial Library closed. Takes classes at the FDR Institute at 15 State Street
Sails on 4 different ships during the First Gulf War, from Desert Shield to Desert Storm. Transported dud missiles back to the States from the Middle East. Transported cargo for combat from the U.S. to the Middle East
Stationed at the piers in South Vietnam during the War
Shot at while traveling upriver in Vietnam. US Army claims the bullet holes were from World War II, denies the crew compensation
Sails on the BIDDEFORD VICTORY. Travels to Naples, Italy in 1969
Thoughts on post-Reagan American Merchant Marine. State of the industry today
Closing thoughts on education, training, and experience in the Merchant Marine
Gets his Z card and joins the National Maritime Union. Sails as Ordinary Seaman, then Acting AB, then AB
Takes the 3rd Mate’s exam and studies celestial navigation. Sails as Boswain and gets 2nd Mate’s License via the Seamen’s Church Institute Navigation School
Sails on the CV LIGHTNING, one of the first container ships. Discusses the CV SEA WITCH, which sank at the pier
Sails as Mate. Discusses using the sextant to conduct celestial navigation
Taking measurements with the sextant in cloud cover
Navigating the submarine net in New York Harbor from Coney Island to Hoffman Island
Background, visiting the Marine Museum at the Seamen’s Church Institute in 1954, meeting Capt. Ralph Cropley; Fort Schuyler
Being at the museum, Capt. Ralph Cropley’s letters, models at the museum
Graduating from Fort Schuyler; helping out at the museum; being a marine surveyor for the National Cargo Bureau in 1970; working with the International Maritime Organization
Getting involved with Seamen’s Church Institute, working with the Cropley models; starting a family; on BOD for International Ship Holding Corporation; background on National Cargo Bureau
Spending time at sea and settling down; 25 South Street; on Capt. Ralph Cropley
Being at 25 South Street, attending dances at the International Club; Sailor’s Snug Harbor; adapting to the weather
Joseph Conrad Library, newspapers; seafarers hanging out at the museum
Interactions between seafarers and the chaplains at 25 SOUTH STREET; seafarer’s clothing; “goon squads” in the 1930s
25 South Street in the 1960s, renovations in 1970s; flophouses; on profanity
Seamen passing away while staying at 25 South Street, seamen’s monument at Evergreens Cemetery; disabled seamen
SCI doctors using the radio station KDKF in 1920 or 1921
Memorial Day services in Ocean View Cemetery on May 30, 1930, at Jeanette Park on May 30, 1932 (with Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield placing a wreath on the bandstand) ,and on the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse at 25 South Street are shown.
Men's Shelter at 39th Street Ferry Terminal (Battery Maritime Building)
The 39th Street Ferry House Men's Shelter was built in response to the Panic of 1920. In cooperation with the Department of Public Welfare and the Mayor's Committee on Relief, SCI opened this temporary station for unemployed seamen on November 7, 1921. This facility provided beds, hot showers, laundry services and food for 500 men each night until it closed on April 15, 1922.
This facility was located inside what is now known as the Battery Maritime Building
This exhibit was used for advertising SCI’s Modernization Fund. Clarence G. Michalis, President of SCI’s Board of Managers, is also shown speaking at the final report meeting of the Modernization Fund on Jan. 8, 1945.
Background, family; following the river, first job on the river, obtaining license
Working for Madison Coal & Supply Company; working on paddle wheel boats, loading coal barges
Moving to and working in Louisiana, becoming a port captain, new technology; making decisions
Being a port captain; working with the Chaplain, Seamen’s Church Institute
Working at Seamen’s Church Institute, being an instructor; changes in the river industry over the years, interviewing deckhands, dealing with the heat
The river industry in present day; Seamen’s Church Institute in present day; introducing new technology in the 90’s, “imagination gap”; brick and mortar buildings
A 1950 Mobile, Ala. meeting of the National Council of Seamen's Agencies (later North American Maritime Ministry Association) and an overhead crowd shot taken aboard a ship in 1953 are shown.
1971 National Maritime Day activities included Rev. John M. Mulligan giving a speech. Also included is a program at Castle Clinton in New York (N. Y.) on May 22, 1970.
Views of and from the Battery and a view of the Narrows from Staten Island
The New York Port Society was founded in 1818 by merchants and shipbuilders to promote Christianity among merchant mariners.
NYS Canal Systems Operations, including Erie Barge Canal and Lock #2 in Waterford, NY.
North River Station (with Church of the Holy Comforter)
North River Station was operated by SCI from 1888-1923.
postcard
The first Operation Sail event, a tie-in with the New York World's Fair, brought tall ships from around the world to New York Harbor for a grand parade of sail up the Hudson.
Marshall Orme Wilson Jr. (November 13, 1885 – February 13, 1966) began serving on the Board of Managers in 1910. The February 1961 issue of The Lookout noted his 50 years of board service.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Also includes 1 newspaper article. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Also includes 3 newspaper articles. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Also includes 6 newspaper articles. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Also includes 2 watercolor paintings and 2 newspaper articles. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Also includes 3 drawings and 3 newspaper articles. The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
A scrapbook containing photographs of seafarers, ships and port scenes from around the world. Inscription reads: "To Mrs. E. M. Baxter, Commemorating nine years of esteemed friendship, "Vires acquirit eundo," Apprentices' Room, SCI, New York, Oct. 2nd, 1930." The scrapbook was most likely compiled by Mrs. Edith Baxter, Supervisor of the Apprentice Room at 25 South Street, SCI’s headquarters from 1913-1967.
Pictured is a tent service on Pier 5, close to the Coenties Slip Station. The Coenties Slip Station was largely planned as an outdoor establishment, and as such church services were held outside underneath a tent.
Ships in the harbor at Port Arthur, Texas
Port Newark Station was built in the 1960s by the Weny Bros & Storms Co. The original building, opened on July 17,1961, the second building, opened at the end of 1965. A photograph shows James C. Kellogg III and W. Lawrence Mc Lane at the lease signing ceremony for the Port Newark Station. Also shown is the sport field of Seaman’s Church Institute, ground being broken for new buildings, and a renovation project in the early to late 1990s.
Rev. Jean R. Smith, Director of Center for Seafarers’ Services, is shown in conversation with various individuals. Chefs in the kitchen of the restaurant preparing meals, and merchant marines enjoying their leisure time are also shown. The black and white photographs are from 1993, and colored photographs are from 2001-2004. One photograph shows a 9/11 memorial (with a portion of a destroyed building) displayed at Port Newark.
Port Newark Seafarer's Center Open House
Black and white photos from the 1960s show construction, events, the building at Port Newark Station in New Jersey, the lease signing ceremony at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on April 18, 1960 and the dedication ceremony on October 7, 1960. Clarence G. Michalis, Rev. John M. Mulligan, and Franklin E. Vilas, Revs. Roscoe T. Foust and John M. Mulligan, along with Clarence G. Michalis and Franklin E. Vilas, are also included. Color photos date from late 1970s to 1989. Mariners and SCI employees are shown relaxing and socializing. Chapel services, International Sports Week in September 1974, “Salute to the Volunteers” party on March 8, 1983, dances, the 1989 Christmas party, and Rev. James R. Whittemore are shown