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.
July 20, 2005 17:44
Meeting Street Before
August 09, 2005 15:59
An early bite of the bridge
August 10, 2005 6:42
Getting started
August 10, 2005 17:37
Between King Street and Meeting St
August 12, 2005 21:16
Night work on the I-26 overpass
August 14, 2005 6:47
Morning work - Lifting girders with a mega-crane
August 15, 2005 16:46
Sparky's photos: Progress between Meeting and King
August 17, 2005 16:05
Clash of the titans
August 19, 2005 13:48
Removing the last girder over Meeting St.
August 19, 2005 17:28
Surprise encounters of the first kind
August 22, 2005 20:29
Clean up between King and Meeting Streets
August 26, 2005 15:30
Takes two to tango
August 27, 2005 11:09
Eating away at the Grace and Pearman approaches
August 30, 2005 16:58
Working on the Nassau Overpass
August 31, 2005 17:10
Working on the Hanover Overpass
September 02, 2005 14:56
Working from Meeting St to East Bay
September 11, 2005 16:14
Hanover overpass gone - and marching on
September 19, 2005 11:14
Pearman on ramp
October 01, 2005 0:00
From SCDOT: A view from above
October 03, 2005 14:57
Converging between Meeting St and East Bay
October 20, 2005 18:00
Bridge skeletons
December 12, 2005 16:13
The Pearman ramp is no more
January 05, 2006 16:12
From Meeting St to East Bay - only a small Grace ramp remains
January 21, 2006 8:30
From Meeting St to East Bay and back
February 01, 2006 0:00
SCDOT gives us a view from above
February 04, 2006 16:20
A transition from unbuilding to rebuilding
February 22, 2006 17:30
Transition from unbuilding to rebuilding: Along Lee St between East Bay and Meeting St.
May 12, 2006 16:40
Rebuilding along Lee St between Meeting and East Bay
June 01, 2006 10:00
A view from above by SCDOT
June 24, 2006 11:57
From SCDOT, Julie and Randi - A history of the project from above
July 01, 2006 7:12
A new meaning of high reach
July 10, 2006 18:16
Down memory lane between East Bay and Meeting St
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
C. Frank Starmer