For Sparky and myself, curiosity drives passion which in turn fuels our life's engine. Our passion was capturing the story of both unbuilding the Grace (1929 - 2007) and Pearman (1966 - 2007) Bridges and discovering the unbuilders. It takes a lot of passion to track a project from July 2005 until April 2007 - rain, shine, hurricanes or moving to Singapore. We discovered the joy of discovery learning. Ken Canty opened the front door for us - then Steve Testa, Ponch Billingsley and Mickey Rogers opened many side doors. Below are the highlights of what we discovered, who we met and what we learned.
And a reminder from T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets)
Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated Of dead and living. Not the intense moment Isolated, with no before and after, But a lifetime burning in every moment And not the lifetime of one man only But of old stones that cannot be deciphered.

August 01, 2005 0:00
From SCDOT: A view from above

August 18, 2005 18:15
Grace off ramp

August 19, 2005 17:03
Grace Main Span Pins

October 01, 2005 0:00
From SCDOT: A view from above

October 01, 2005 9:32
Removing the Grace roadway and final preparations for droppping the Pearman-Town Creek segment

October 01, 2005 14:05
Removing the Grace Roadway

October 03, 2005 19:27
Neil Myers night crew at work

October 06, 2005 0:00
Finishing roadway removal of the Town Creek section of the Grace Bridge

October 14, 2005 0:00
Removing roadway from the Grace Approach

October 22, 2005 8:21
An early morning look at progress over Drum Island

October 25, 2005 7:56
Clearing Grace and Pearman structures from Drum Island

October 29, 2005 11:46
Dropping the cables on the Grace superstructure

November 14, 2005 21:05
Picking a Grace segment of the East Bay overpasses

November 16, 2005 7:50
Unbuilding the Grace while marching across Drum Island

November 18, 2005 11:20
Removing the Grace skeleton inside the Port

November 19, 2005 11:08
The disappearing Pearman Stonehenge and going is the Grace ramp

November 25, 2005 12:11
A Thanksgiving Holiday

November 30, 2005 9:50
Pio, Brad, Ted and Richie playing the Grace

December 01, 2005 14:00
A gift from SCDOT - a view from above

December 04, 2005 15:27
Grace departs from Drum Island

December 06, 2005 10:01
Dropping the Town Creek Section of the Grace Bridge

December 06, 2005 18:12
Raising Grace from Town Creek

December 11, 2005 0:00
Roadway and girder removal - Grace is fast disappearing

December 12, 2005 7:32
Pio and his Grace jazz ensemble

December 13, 2005 8:27
Early morning girder harvesting

December 14, 2005 7:12
How much sidewalk can Pio make from the Grace roadbed?

January 01, 2006 12:45
A snapshot of the Gace and Pearman skeletons

January 05, 2006 16:45
Unbuilding Grace: a family affair

January 07, 2006 9:00
More unbuilding of the Grace roadway

January 11, 2006 7:41
Early morning at the Pearman and Grace ramps

January 12, 2006 17:29
Sparky catching sunset at its best

January 15, 2006 14:00
The Grace sand pile

January 17, 2006 13:00
Unbuilding the Grace trusses

January 17, 2006 14:43
Unbuilding the Grace cantilever trusses

January 19, 2006 17:38
Sparky catches sunset over Town Creek

January 21, 2006 8:50
Unbuilding the Drum Island and Port segments of the Grace trusses

January 21, 2006 10:05
Downhill unbuilding of the Grace ramp

January 24, 2006 15:40
Preparing the Grace cantilever segment for a blast

January 25, 2006 13:50
Gone is the Grace off ramp at America St.

January 28, 2006 9:18
Almost finished: Jaws and unbuilding Grace's ramp

January 31, 2006 4:10
Backing down the Grace at 4am

February 01, 2006 0:00
SCDOT gives us a view from above

February 04, 2006 16:20
A transition from unbuilding to rebuilding

February 04, 2006 17:30
Pio and a tight squeeze: two excavators passing on the Grace

February 04, 2006 20:10
A surprise from Marvin + Jack, Lewis, Rich and Scott - 600 Grace feet to go

February 08, 2006 16:15
The last gasps of the Grace roadway

February 09, 2006 2:10
The end of Grace: Unpouring the last segment of the Grace ramp

February 12, 2006 11:05
A Sunday survey of the worksites

February 15, 2006 10:00
Explosive fracture of the Grace Cantilever Truss

February 16, 2006 13:06
The Mammoet umbrella and Grace / Pearman preparations

February 17, 2006 10:12
Jim Grier and his A team fells the last Grace segment on Drum Island

February 17, 2006 11:10
Sparky's whirlwind visit: up, down and all around

February 26, 2006 7:45
Preparing Grace for dropping her main span

March 01, 2006 6:45
The Ironworkers proclaim that the Cooper River is Graceless

March 04, 2006 7:30
Manny, Chucky, Nugget, Chris, Speedy Pat, Farmer, Art and Rip: Removing the Mammoet beam

March 08, 2006 16:45
Sparky captures Pio, Richie and the team playing a Farewell to Grace

March 10, 2006 17:30
Bye Bye Grace

March 11, 2006 16:08
Retrieving the cantilever truss

March 13, 2006 16:45
Multiple personalities of Testa operators

March 16, 2006 12:10
Unbuilding the grace support girders and piers

March 18, 2006 7:04
Ironworker acrobats display their Graceful respect of Grace

March 20, 2006 11:03
Grace, Richie and Jackie: A tango at the Navy Yard

March 22, 2006 8:25
Starting to unbuild P-3

March 25, 2006 15:23
Michael's headache and more tenacity of purpose

March 27, 2006 15:03
Rebuilding a jackup barge leg, work on "Stiff Neck" and pre-blast prep on the Pearman

March 28, 2006 17:03
Unbuilding Pio's legacy and repairs

March 31, 2006 11:17
Sparky and Sparky 2 and a trip around the worksites

April 01, 2006 0:00
From SCDOT: A view from above

April 03, 2006 16:10
Pio, Richie, Jackie and Michael - unbuilding Grace

April 06, 2006 18:45
Sunsets over Grace: without words

April 08, 2006 7:09
Michael, P-3 and his 1250

April 08, 2006 13:05
The dynamic duo: Jackie and Richie

April 09, 2006 9:04
A neck procedure for Michael's 1250

April 11, 2006 10:00
Oscar and the DD team

April 11, 2006 14:30
Planting explosives on the truss between P-11 and P-13

April 12, 2006 9:59
Grace trusses between P-11 and P-13 down

April 14, 2006 9:48
Then and Now - Transforming the skylines of Charleston and Mt. Pleasant

April 18, 2006 12:19
Unbuilding the west Grace cantilever

April 24, 2006 16:05
Cleanup around the Cooper River and the Navy Yard

April 26, 2006 13:15
Jackie Foley and Michael Hebb and how to fish for Grace truss sections

April 26, 2006 13:47
Charge placement on the Grace structure

April 28, 2006 10:00
Bye bye Grace (Mt. Pleasant side)

April 29, 2006 12:38
A retrieval composition for Crane, Grapple and Shear

May 03, 2006 10:16
Quartet for Diver, Crane, Grapple and Shear

May 08, 2006 10:38
A surprise in a small package

May 08, 2006 12:41
Unbuilding does not stop for lunch

May 11, 2006 16:10
Sparky makes a tour of the worksites (between the rain episodes)

May 16, 2006 8:57
The Last Grace Blast and a tribute from the C-17s and F-15s

May 16, 2006 11:00
After the dance - cleanup time

May 21, 2006 11:21
Unbuilding P-10 - the strategy

May 27, 2006 4:30
Installing the Grace bearings, May 22, 1929

June 01, 2006 10:00
A view from above by SCDOT

June 03, 2006 17:51
Michael's 1250 at the Navy Yard

June 04, 2006 12:51
What a change in the Cooper River landscape

June 05, 2006 15:00
Blowing P-12

June 05, 2006 16:10
Drilling the footing with a template - prep for P-11 blast

June 07, 2006 12:57
Preparing to unbuild P-11: A template + drilling + skill

June 07, 2006 15:45
Tim and Michael hammering away while Smokey is fishing

June 19, 2006 12:05
Reviewing the past 2 years:
The changing face of the Cooper River

June 20, 2006 19:15
Cleanup at the Navy Yard and a new player

June 24, 2006 11:57
From SCDOT, Julie and Randi - A history of the project from above

June 26, 2006 15:10
Our backup video team and the Navy Yard

June 30, 2006 13:15
See Mickey's new Copco

June 30, 2006 13:35
Marine life in the Cooper River

July 03, 2006 20:23
Sunset over the Graceless Cooper River

July 12, 2006 14:55
P-10 says goodbye to Charleston

July 17, 2006 11:54
Meet the Jay Cashman (aka 995)

July 22, 2006 10:30
Meet Billy Ward and the 995 in action

July 24, 2006 16:08
Building the Observation Pier and unbuilding P-8 and P-9

August 16, 2006 19:06
New boy on the block at the Navy Yard

August 30, 2006 14:36
Final cleanup at the Navy Yard

September 14, 2006 17:54
Unbuilding the last of the Grace structure

September 16, 2006 9:42
Part 1: Chris, Robbie, Lewis and Carlos - Graceful acrobats @ work

September 16, 2006 10:49
Part 2: Raising the Grace pier truss

September 16, 2006 16:45
Part 3: Unbuilding Grace from her feet

September 20, 2006 16:23
A new Grace foundation and Mt Pleasant work

September 23, 2006 12:14
A little bit of building - the midsection Grace support

October 10, 2006 9:00
Brian Dadin joins our team and Grace has a mid-span support

October 13, 2006 17:13
From Mt. Pleasant to Charleston. Sparky provides an all around update

October 17, 2006 15:48
The J. Cashman scooping and dumping + a bit of Chris Vocci

October 26, 2006 11:00
An aerial survey from SCDOT

October 30, 2006 15:56
Blasting Grace's foot prints

November 09, 2006 17:23
Manny and Chris get well deserved extensions

November 15, 2006 15:03
Gloom and rain can not stop unbuilding

November 20, 2006 17:19
More Pearman truss unbuilding

December 02, 2006 16:17
Sparky is back from Katrina-land to give us a bridge fix

December 13, 2006 16:02
A foggy Grace worksite

December 13, 2006 18:03
The Navy yard - cleanup and the 995

December 15, 2006 11:41
Watch Manny and the Ironworkers unbuild a Grace section

December 15, 2006 12:34
More unbuilidng of Grace

December 15, 2006 13:14
Unbuilding the next section

December 15, 2006 14:24
Carlos, Manny, Nugget and Stan - do it again Sam!

December 15, 2006 16:39
Another face lift by Manny, Carlos and the team

December 15, 2006 18:03
Removing the next section over the temp supports

December 16, 2006 9:55
Nearing the end of unbuilding Grace

December 16, 2006 12:08
A view of the Grace Skateboard ramp from above

December 19, 2006 9:34
Unbuilding half the last superstructure

December 19, 2006 10:18
Carlos, Lewis, Nugget, Stan, Robbie, Randi, Rick, Manny, Chris and a segment of Project Runway

December 19, 2006 12:09
The last of Grace to come down

December 20, 2006 14:20
Unbuilding half the Grace roadway skeleton

December 21, 2006 10:47
Near completion of the Grace steel structures

December 22, 2006 16:28
SCDOT's aerial survey

January 02, 2007 14:15
Cleanup at the Port site

January 05, 2007 16:14
Neither rain, snow, or ice can keep Jimmy Grier from an oyster roast

January 30, 2007 16:41
Michael unbuilding the last Grace pier

February 01, 2007 16:00
Fog wraps cousin Arthur

February 10, 2007 12:08
Sparky takes a walk down memory lane, with Liza and Lauren

February 13, 2007 14:12
Preparing the last Grace pier for implosion

February 24, 2007 13:05
A quintet for 4 guys and the moon

February 27, 2007 13:48
Cleanup and final prep for the T-2 foundation implosion

March 02, 2007 13:37
Driling the last Grace pier

March 09, 2007 13:55
Manny and team: fetching and toting

March 10, 2007 9:47
Manny: lifting, positioining, lifting again, positioining again and then hammering

March 11, 2007 10:53
More prep for the last Grace pier

March 12, 2007 10:35
Mickey, Ken and team loading up for tomorrow's last big event

March 13, 2007 10:15
Bringing down the last Grace pier

March 13, 2007 14:25
Manny demonstrates the Manny push strategy.

March 14, 2007 16:36
Fishing for debris from yesterday's implosion

March 17, 2007 8:43
Finishing the Mt Pleasant Pier, Cleanup at the port and Mickey drilling the last Grace base

March 20, 2007 18:42
Cleanup on the Charleston side and another Charleston Sunset

March 21, 2007 15:25
Cleanup, Randy and Driving with Sparky

March 26, 2007 11:06
Manny and Mickey - what a pair. Watch the last of the Copco drilling exercise

March 27, 2007 16:00
The last Graceful Blast from Mickey, Michael, Ken and the entire unbuilding team

March 29, 2007 16:46
The clean up after ...

April 03, 2007 12:35
The last of Manny. What a man and what a smile - sigh

April 10, 2007 7:42
Morning sun kisses the Graceless and Pearmanless Ravenel Bridge

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
C. Frank Starmer