Foot of Broadway - Fell's Point 1977

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=65 BGCOLOR="#336699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>THE FOOT OF BROADWAY</U></B></div> <div> <B><U>FELL’S POINT 1977</U></B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=170 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="USF Constellation at Baltimore Inner Har"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Augustine Lighthouse"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B>Return to 16" x 20" pen and ink page</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3f096450.gif" border=0 width="150" height="69" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3f396960.gif" border=0 width="150" height="150" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=415 BGCOLOR="#663300" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div>   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>           </div> <bR> <div> <B>Less than 20 years ago the foot of Broadway was dominated by the maritime trades.  The Baltimore Harbor Police occupied a small station house at the end of the pier across from Recreation Pier at the foot of Broadway.  The remainder of the pier and adjacent area were occupied by maritime businesses such as  Vane Brothers Ship Chandlery (foreground buildings on the pier).  Tugboats were a common site.  Tugboats from the Curtis Bay Towing Company and the Baker Whiteley Coal Company regularly docked at Recreation Pier and visiting tugboats docked on the opposite side in front of Vane Brothers.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The 81 foot tugboat </B><B>Delbar</B><B> was one of 100 identical tugboats designed in 1943 by the U. S. Army Engineer Corps to meet the urgent wartime need for tugboats to transport fuel oil and other petroleum products through the Gulf Coast and Atlantic coast inland waterways to the northeastern States.  Under the direction of the quasi-federal Defense Plant Corporation (DPC) six ship builders were awarded contracts for their construction in 1943 and 1944 and were to be designated as DPC tugboats.  Seventy five of the DPC tugboats were assigned to the Gulf Coast inland waterways and 25 to the Atlantic coast inland waterways.   Following the war effort the DPC tugboats many were sold to private maritime companies or to other countries and few remain working today. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Of the 100 tugboats, ten were built  in Brooklyn, NY by Ira S. Bushey & Sons in 1943 and Delbar was one of these.  Originally designated as DPC-53 she changed ownership and names four more times before acquiring the her current name and operated out of Philadelphia.   She was a regular visitor to this location until the early 1980s.  Delbar's location today is not known and may have been either sold or scrapped.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the background across the harbor at Locust Point North is the world famous Domino Sugar Company.  In 1977 twin smokestacks carried the Domino name in addition to the well known lighted sign that faces the inner harbor area (just barely visible at a sharp angle in this scene above </B><B>Delbar’s</B><B> pilot house).  A couple of years later one of the smokestacks was removed, however, the buildings remain today much as they were then and the Domino sign still faces the inner harbor.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Vane Brothers moved to Canton and is now located on Newgate Street, however, they plan to move across the river near Fairfield in the near future.  Baker Whiteley towing operations were taken over by McAllister Towing Company and moved all their tugboats to Canton.  The familiar blue diamond of the Curtis Bay Towing Company disappeared when they merged with Moran Towing Company and their tugboats continue to dock at Recreation Pier.  The Baltimore Harbor Police moved and the pier was paved with contributors engraved bricks as part of the Baltimore Harbor Endowment improvement efforts.</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>