fireproof photos on Flickr

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Hotel Savery - Des Moines, Iowa by Cardboard America™

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A Boss Hotel

350 Attractive Fireproof Rooms with Bath

3 Air-Conditioned Restaurants

Complete Air-Conditioned Convention Facilities

Mailed from Mount Vernon, Iowa to Miss Phyllis Latta of Bennett, Iowa on November 6, 1951:

Dear Phyllis,

How's your C.A.T.? It was pleasant to enjoy the time with you on Friday. Saturday did it'd worst, don't you think? Hope you reached home and back to work safely. - Mae

McCormick-Armstrong Co.

CAPA-001363

Fireprooof Warehouse and Storage by bizzano

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Fireproof Neon by Tim Perdue

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#67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Andy Priaulx World Endurance Championship by Jonny Henchman

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#67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Andy Priaulx World Endurance Championship - Silverstone - Sunday

Special Edition Prints for Sale: Digital Download or Pro Print

Tutorial: Free eBook Guide to shooting motorsport at Silverstone

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Lee Mowle - ERC Sport by Jonny Henchman

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British GT Championship - Snetterton

Tutorial: Free eBook Guide to shooting motorsport at Silverstone

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Gustavo YACAMAN, Luis Felipe DERANI, Ricardo GONZALEZ by Jonny Henchman

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Gustavo YACAMAN, Luis Felipe DERANI, Ricardo GONZALEZ

G- Drive Ligier JS P2 - Nissan

YMCA Hotel - Chicago, Illinois by Cardboard America™

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826 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago

For young men and women, 2000 Fireproof rooms. Many with running water. Some with private bath. Rates from $1.00 to $2.00 per day. Three floors reserved for women and families. Large lobbies and lounges. Daily programs, entertainments and concerts. Restaurants, Barber Shop, Tailor Shop, haberdashery, Travel Bureau, health Club.

C.T. Art-Colortone

CAPA-007631

Mailed from Chicago, Illinois to Mrs. A. Schneider in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 14, 1944:

Hello Ma: We got down here OK. Got a room on 17th floor. Its cloudy down here. Will be back Friday night. Love, Betty & Wally

Westminster by Jonny Henchman

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Images from London

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Cawthon Hotel - Mobile, Alabama by Cardboard America™

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Mobile's Favorite Hotel

Free Parking - Fireproof

The Cawthon Rose Room serves the finest in Cocktails, Seafoods and Meats

P.C. Senn, Manager

Mailed from Mobile, Alabama to Miss Hariett Eyclle of Chapel Hill, Tennessee on December 31, 1940:

Howdy - Your daddy is behaving very well. He ate so much to-night that he is about to develop a bay window.

An E.C. Kropp Card

Number: 14641

CAPA-021754

Hotel William Penn - Seattle, Washington by Cardboard America™

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1007 Pike St.

Seattle, Washington

SEneca 0870

100 Modern Fireproof Rooms

5 Blocks From City Center

Marcus HOGGARTH / Abbie EATON by Jonny Henchman

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Marcus HOGGARTH / Abbie EATON

Ebor GT Motorsport

Maserati GT MC GT4

Oliver Buildings at the Former Shapland and Petter Factory in Barnstaple near the Long Bridge by Elliott Brown

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A look around Barnstaple Town Centre.

Crossing the Long Bridge over the River Taw.

Oliver Buildings at the Former Shapland and Petter Factory in Barnstaple. This building was boarded up awaiting redevelopment.

Grade II Listed Building

Oliver Buildings at the Former Shapland and Petter Factory

It was listed in 2015.

Oliver Buildings at the Former Shapland and Petter Factory

Oliver buildings at former Shapland and Petter factory site, Taw Wharf, Sticklepath, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 2AA

Summary

The former offices and showroom, and the surviving part of the furniture factory of Shapland and Petter, built in 1888 to designs by local architect William Clement Oliver (1832-1913), excluding the C20 link building and white-painted additions, and the later-C20 internal partitioning.

Reasons for Designation

The factory, showroom and office buildings known as the Oliver Buildings on the former Shapland and Petter site in Barnstaple, a furniture factory of 1888, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: they were designed by William Clement Oliver, a local and regional architect whose work is characterised by the use of polychrome materials and good detailing which is evident in these buildings; * Technological interest: the buildings employ an innovative combination of fireproof and fire-retardant construction, compartmentalisation and a sprinkler system, which was designed following the loss of the firm’s previous works in a disastrous fire; * Historic interest: as the principal buildings where Shapland and Petter produced high-quality, mass-produced Arts and Crafts furniture using technologically-advanced machinery imported from the United States for the initial stages of production, combined with detailed, hand-crafted and applied elements and finishing; their work, which is now highly sought after, represents part of the democratisation of the style which saw its popularity spread throughout society.

History

The firm which would become Shapland and Petter was founded in 1854 in Barnstaple, by Henry Shapland, who had been apprenticed as a cabinet maker. After failing to find work in London, Shapland travelled to America, where he discovered a revolution taking place in cabinet making: the invention of modern woodworking machinery allowed the laborious sawing and planing of timber to be mechanised, leaving the skilled cabinet makers free to concentrate on the important final stages of assembly and finishing. Returning to England, he brought back drawings of a machine he had seen which was capable of producing finely-carved mouldings on curved surfaces, ideal for use in the creation of high-quality furniture, together with a commitment to the idea of mechanised manufacturing using the most cutting-edge machinery and technology. Back in Barnstaple, he re-created the machine he had seen, and began a business in a water-powered former textile mill at Raleigh in Pilton, initially making and selling mouldings to piano makers and furniture manufacturers. The business, which began making its own furniture rather than just supplying mouldings, later moved to Bear Street in Barnstaple, and in 1856, Henry Shapland was joined in partnership by Henry Petter, who had previously worked in publishing. In 1864, the firm of Shapland and Petter returned to the old mill at Raleigh, eventually taking over the whole of the large factory site. Shapland continued his interest in developments in the US, regularly importing the latest manufacturing technology; and in 1885, his son, Richard, travelled to America to research timber-seasoning methods. He went on to patent his own method, which cut the time taken to season timber for furniture to one-thirtieth of that traditionally taken, but produced better and more consistent results. The design of his drying kilns was hugely successful, and by 1891, they were much sought after in London and throughout the country.

On 5 March 1888, a devastating fire entirely destroyed the Raleigh factory, taking with it all of Shapland and Petter’s stocks of materials and extensive range of finished furniture. It was fortunate that the company had already purchased a second site, a former shipbuilding yard at Bridge Wharf on the banks of the River Taw, which had not only access by water, but its own railway siding, significant for bringing raw materials to site and shipping out finished pieces. Shapland and Petter was already running a timber merchants’ business from the site, on which they rapidly set about building a new factory complex, to be known as the Raleigh Cabinet Works. The buildings which survive date from this phase; they were constructed in 1888, and were designed by William Clement Oliver (1832-1913), a local architect whose work in Barnstaple is characterised by his good detailing and decorative use of polychrome materials. After the disastrous fire on the former mill site, the firm was anxious to guard against fire wherever possible in the new factory. To this end, the ranges were built with timber doors faced on either side with galvanised iron; 3-inch thick timber was used for floorboards; and the stairs were constructed in concrete and brick, within a stair bay which was separated from the ranges on either side by solid walls which extended the full height of the structure, emerging as raised verges at the roofs. The flat-roofed stair bays carried large water tanks to feed the Grinnell Automatic Sprinkler System, a design imported from the United States, which was a recent evolution of the sprinkler systems which had been developed there since the 1850s. Ten hydrants were installed, with hoses on every landing. Electric lighting was installed throughout, to avoid the danger of naked flames. The company also set up its own Fire Brigade, which was regularly drilled, and even loaned its services elsewhere in the town.

The new buildings at the Raleigh Cabinet Works housed the latest American woodworking machinery, which Shapland and Petter continued to update as new technology became available. The company flourished, and by the mid-1890s, had showrooms at Berners Street, off Oxford Street in London, as well as selling through a wide network of retailers. Shapland and Petter furniture was in competition with the likes of Liberty, selling very high quality mass-produced furniture in a variety of styles – reproduction, traditional or modern, by which was meant the Arts and Crafts style which was increasing in popularity. At this time, C R Ashbee, the renowned Arts and Crafts architect and designer, gave a twelve-week lecture course for designers at the School of Art in Barnstaple, at the request of Shapland and Petter, and his influence can be seen in the output of the company’s Design Room, which was run by William Cowie, who had links to the Glasgow School of Art, and under whom a number of well-paid designers worked, creating large numbers of designs which were patented by Shapland and Petter. The firm grew from a provincial furniture maker to one in the forefront of Arts and Crafts furniture manufacture. Although Shapland and Petter’s use of woodworking machinery was not in accord with strict Arts and Crafts principles, it was confined to the early stages of preparation, which allowed extraordinary attention to be paid to design, joinery, decoration and polishing. Shapland and Petter furniture was sold through a wide range of retailers in the United Kingdom, including Waring and Gillow, and worldwide, with offices and agents in Paris, Buenos Aires, and in North America. Their work was characterised by the use of oak or mahogany, with copper, pewter, ceramic and enamelled inlay, marquetry with exotic and native timber, and extensive use of plant motifs in the Art Nouveau manner.

Henry Shapland and Henry Petter both died in 1909, but the firm continued under new directors. During the First World War, the factory took on war work, making shell cases, timber aircraft propellers and ammunition boxes, although furniture manufacturing carried on alongside. In the inter-war years, the company diversified, moving into the manufacture of high-quality fittings and furniture for prestigious new buildings and ocean liners. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Shapland and Petter again tendered for war work, turning much of the site over to essential production. At the end of the war, production of furniture and fittings resumed, with the company taking on restoration and refitting of war-damaged buildings across the country, including the Guildhall and Middle Temple in London, but also churches, universities, banks, laboratories, hospitals, law courts and civic buildings; and were contracted by Harland and Woolf to fit out new and refurbished liners. Shapland and Petter continued to thrive through the C20, and by the late 1970s had evolved into specialist door manufacturers. Manufacturing continued on the Raleigh site until 2012, when the factory was closed, and work moved wholly to the sister site in Nottingham. Much of the former factory site was cleared in advance of development, leaving just the present buildings standing – formerly housing the carvers’ department and their store of machined components; the blacksmiths’ stores, veneer store and marble workshop; the cabinet makers’ assembling and finishing workshops; packing and forwarding department; and in the rear range, the firm’s showrooms and offices. The buildings were empty at the time of this report (2016).

Details

The former offices and showroom, and the surviving part of the furniture factory of Shapland and Petter, built in 1888 to designs by local architect William Clement Oliver (1832-1913), not including the later C20 link building and white-painted blockwork additions, and the later-C20 internal partitioning.

MATERIALS Cream brick with red brick dressings, partly on a stone plinth, under slate roofs.

PLAN Two unequal ranges, the longer running roughly east-west and with a recessed central stair bay; and a shorter range at right-angles.

EXTERIOR The buildings are each of three storeys, the main range with a basement to the rear. The walling is of cream brick, with red brick quoins, window and door surrounds, and red brick string courses between the floors. The fenestration is regular, with very slightly segmental arches openings with flat red-brick voussoirs, each housing multi-paned, timber-framed windows. The gable ends have raised, coped verges, and decorative red-brick bands towards the apex. The principal building, facing north, has two seven-bay ranges separated by a wide stair-bay, with paired narrow windows to each floor. There is a shallow stone plinth to this elevation, which extends downwards to the rear to create a full basement storey as the ground level is lower. The fenestration to the south is similar, but with single, wider windows to the stair bay. There are several door openings to the basement, and an external stair gives access to the raised ground floor. There is a later, single-storey, flat-roofed rendered and white-painted extension at the eastern end of the building, which is excluded from the listing.

The construction of the range which stands at right-angles to the main range is similar, though its fenestration to the main, eastern elevation consists of paired, top-hung sash windows to all three floors, and its plinth is red brick. There are continuous red-brick cill and lintel bands, with a third band between these two. The western elevation is of three storeys and basement, with a projecting stair turret at its northern end, with a monopitch roof. The elevation has been extended by the addition of a lean-to of two storeys and basement, built in red brick with rectangular timber windows and plat bands between storeys, extending to the same depth as the stair turret. This element is included in the listing. Attached to the southern end of this range is a later-C20, concrete block-built stair bay, painted white, which is excluded from the listing.

This range is linked to the northern ranges by a single-storey link at ground-floor level, which is excluded from the listing.

INTERIOR The buildings share common construction and detailing. The floors are 3-inch timber planks, on timber joists. The internally expressed brick piers, door and window recesses have chamfered edges. Both ranges have their original roof structures, formed from queen-post trusses with angled king-struts and twin purlins.

The main E-W range was historically used as stores and workshops. It is divided into two by a fireproof stairwell, separated from the floors on either side by full-height brick party walls; the dog-leg stair is solid concrete, and the wall around which it turns is brick. A lift is also housed in the stairwell, with metal shuttered doors to each landing. The water supply for the sprinkler system is evident in the hydrants with taps which stand on each landing. The historic sprinkler system is evident in the extensive water piping running along the ceilings. A renewed sprinkler system has been installed alongside, making use of some of the historic installation. The building retains a suite of rooms – boardroom, office and showroom – with later-C20 or early C21 panelling and doors, with inlay and marquetry in various timbers, demonstrating the continued use of the site by Shapland and Petter, later Leaderflush Shapland through the C20 and into the C21.

The N-S range, historically the showrooms and offices, is narrower, but was widened by a lean-to extension to full height soon after its completion. Wide, segmental-arched openings with chamfered edges, aligned with the window bays, give access from the main range into the extension. The basement is partly supported on cast-iron columns.

Some of the spaces have been subdivided into smaller offices, using fairly lightweight partitioning, which appear to date from the end of the C20. Most of these do not extend to full height, and they have not compromised the historic fabric of the buildings. Some areas also have suspended ceilings. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the later C20 internal room partitioning and suspended ceilings are not of special architectural or historic interest. They are excluded from the listing.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 13/09/2016

yghfr by suitedup2005

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Jackie Chan DC Racing - Oreca 07 Gibson #38 by Jonny Henchman

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Jackie Chan DC Racing - Oreca 07 Gibson #38 driven by Ho-Pin Tung (NLD) / Oliver Jarvis (GBR) / Thomas Laurent (FRA)

Fireproof Warehouse of John Lewis Childs, Seedsman, Floral Park, Long Island, New York, about 1900 by Jim Griffin

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Fireproof Warehouse of John Lewis Childs, Seedsman, Floral Park, Long Island, New York, about 1900

Photo taken apparently on commission by Tom Griffin (1867-1955) in Floral Park, Long Island New York.

Floral Park Town Historian Walter Gosden wrote:

"The RR station that you sent the scan of was torn down when the new station (more pedestrian

friendly) was built in 1909 (that was torn down when the tracks were elevated in 1960). It would have been located opposite the rear of what is now Koenig's restaurant....

"The Seedman was John Lewis Childs. that is Tulip Avenue you are looking Northwest on, the RR was right behind your grandfather when he took the photo. Koenigs would be to the road to the immediate right of the building."

Tom Griffin (1867-1955) left a box of glass negatives labeled "Floral Park, Long Island." These would seem to be from a photographic assignment about 1900.

"The history of Floral Park begins in 1874, when 17 year old John Lewis Childs came to the area known as East Hinsdale. The community, then a part of Queens County, consisted of a small group of houses, one store, the Hinsdale Post Office and a railroad station. In 1899 New York State's County of Nassau was formed and Floral Park became a part of it ...."

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Box of Asbestos Snow Drift by Asbestorama

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Image of a vintage box of asbestos snow drift "Christmas Decoration" showing labeling and graphics. The "snow drift" material is bright white, fluffy, & fibrous in appearance and has been confirmed to contain high-percentage chrysotile asbestos via laboratory-testing.

Touting safety-minded "Fireproof Asbestos" may have been an appealing marketing tool decades ago, but why the bias toward only "Christmas Decoration"? Couldn't the joyful, seasonal display of highly friable asbestos dust have been equally festive during other, non-Christian religious holiday celebrations or winter festivities too?

Jordan ALBERT - Sean Walkinshaw Racing by Jonny Henchman

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Jordan ALBERT - Sean Walkinshaw Racing

BRDC Formula 4

Vintage Asbestos Abatement Ad: Worker Removing Spray-Applied Fireproofing by Asbestorama

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Image from a vintage asbestos abatement industry publication showing an asbestos abatement worker removing spray-applied fireproofing, a particularly problematic material due to its inherent friability.

Tens of millions of tons of asbestos still remain in our nations' buildings, infrastructure, and existing consumer products; which sooner or later, threatens the health of people around it, requiring proper handling and disposal by trained personnel.

Columbus, OH by neshachan

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A real beauty

Hotel Multnomah - Portland, Oregon by Cardboard America™

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725 Rooms, Absolutely Fireproof

Official Headquarters

Grand Lodge of Elks

July 8-13, 1912

CAPA-020101

Alex MACDOWALL, Fernando REES, Richie STANAWAY by Jonny Henchman

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Alex MACDOWALL, Fernando REES, Richie STANAWAY

Aston Martin Vantage V8

British GT Championship - Silverstone by Jonny Henchman

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British GT Championship - Silverstone - Sunday

Tutorial: Free eBook Guide to shooting motorsport at Silverstone

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minimalist crop of stairway by Bill Abbott

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Eastern stairs at Harmonic Inc, from the 3rd floor.

One of the neat features of this building are the stair cases, which are NOT lined up at 90 degree angles in the fireproof stairwells. I think it makes the stairwells even nicer echo chambers, and its certainly more visually interesting. These two sets of steps are at a funny angle, not parallel on their different levels. Only the landings invariably touch a wall.

DSC_0269

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Brooklin Bridge, New York (USA) by Andrea Guagni 8,6 Million

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Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on January 2, 1870. The first work entailed the construction of two caissons, upon which the suspension towers would be built. The Brooklyn side's caisson was built at the Webb & Bell shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and was launched into the river on March 19, 1870. Compressed air was pumped into the caisson, and workers entered the space to dig the sediment, until the caisson sank to the bedrock. Once the caisson had reached the desired depth, it was to be filled in with brick piers and concrete. However, due to the unexpectedly high concentration of large boulders atop the riverbed, the Brooklyn caisson took several months to sink at the desired rate. Furthermore, in December 1870, the timber roof of the Brooklyn caisson caught fire, delaying construction further. The "Great Blowout", as the fire was called, delayed construction for several months, since the holes in the caisson had to be repaired. On March 6, 1871, the repairs were finished and the caisson had reached its final depth of 44.5 feet; it was filled with concrete five days later. Overall, about 264 individuals were estimated to have worked in the caisson every day, but because of high worker turnover, about 2,500 men in total were estimated to have worked in the caisson. Despite the high turnover rate, only a few workers were paralyzed. At its final depth, the caisson had an air pressure of 21 pounds per square inc.

The Manhattan side's caisson was the next structure to be built, and to ensure that it would not catch fire like its counterpart had, the Manhattan caisson was lined with fireproof plate iron. It was launched from Webb & Bell's shipyard on May 11, 1871, and maneuvered into place that September Due to the extreme underwater air pressure inside the much deeper Manhattan caisson, many workers became sick with decompression sickness during this work, despite the incorporation of airlocks. This condition was unknown at the time and was first called "caisson disease" by the project physician, Andrew Smith. Between January 25 and May 31, 1872, Smith treated 110 cases of decompression sickness, while three workers died from the disease. When iron probes underneath the Manhattan caisson found the bedrock to be even deeper than expected, Washington Roebling halted construction due to the increased risk of decompression sickness. After the Manhattan caisson reached a depth of 78.5 feet with an air pressure of 35 pounds per square inch, Washington deemed the sandy subsoil overlying the bedrock 30 feet beneath to be sufficiently firm, and subsequently infilled the caisson with concrete in July 1872.

Washington Roebling himself suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of caisson disease shortly after ground was broken for the Brooklyn tower foundation. Washington's debilitating condition left him unable to physically supervise the construction firsthand, so he designed the caissons and other equipment from his apartment. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, provided written communications between her husband and the engineers on site. Emily understood higher mathematics, calculations of catenary curves, strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and intricacies of cable construction, and so she spent the next 11 years helping supervise the bridge's construction. After the caissons were completed, piers were constructed atop each caisson, upon which the masonry towers would be built. The construction of the towers themselves was a complex process that took four years. Since the masonry blocks were heavy, the builders lifted the blocks using a pulley system with a continuous 1.5-inch-diameter steel wire rope, operated by steam engines at ground level. The blocks were lifted via a timber track alongside each tower, then maneuvered into the proper position using a derrick atop the towers. The blocks sometimes vibrated the ropes due to their heaviness, but only once did a block actually fall down.

The suspension towers started construction in mid-1872, and by the time work was halted for the winter in late 1872, parts of each tower had already been constructed. By mid-1873, there was substantial progress on the towers' construction. The Brooklyn side's tower had reached a height of 164 feet above mean high water, while the Manhattan side's tower had reached 88 feet above. The arches of the Brooklyn tower were completed by August 1874. The tower as a whole was substantially finished by December 1874 with the erection of saddle plates for the main cables at the top of the tower. However, the ornamentation on the Brooklyn tower could not be completed until the Manhattan tower was finished. The last stone on the Brooklyn tower was raised in June 1875 and the Manhattan tower was completed in July 1876. The saddle plates atop both towers were also raised in July 1876.The work was dangerous: by 1876, three workers had died by falling from the towers, while nine other workers had been killed in other accidents.

While the towers were being constructed, in 1875, the project had depleted its original $5 million budget. Two bridge commissioners, one each from Brooklyn and Manhattan, petitioned New York state lawmakers to allot another $8 million for construction. Ultimately, the legislators passed a law authorizing the allotment, under the condition that the cities would buy the stock of Brooklyn Bridge's private stockholders. Work proceeded concurrently on the anchorages on each side. The Brooklyn anchorage broke ground in January 1873 and was subsequently substantially completed in August 1875. The Manhattan anchorage was built in less time, having started in May 1875, it was mostly completed in July 1876. The anchorages could not be fully completed until the main cables were spun, at which point another six feet would be added to the height of each 80-foot anchorage. The first temporary rope was stretched between the towers on August 15, 1876, using chrome steel provided by the Chrome Steel Company of Brooklyn. The wire was then stretched back across the river, and the two ends were spliced to form a "traveler", a lengthy loop of wire connecting the towers, which was driven by a 30 horsepower steam hoisting engine at ground level. The next step was to send an engineer across the traveler rope in a "boatswain's chair" slung from the wire. The bridge's master mechanic E.F. Farrington was selected for this task, and an estimated crowd of 10,000 people on both shores watched him cross. A second traveler rope was then stretched across the bridge, a task that was completed by August 30. The two traveler ropes would then be used to create a temporary footbridge for workers while cable spinning was ongoing. The temporary footbridge, located some 60 feet above the elevation of the future deck, was completed in February 1877.

By December 1876, a steel contract for the permanent cables still had not been awarded. There was disagreement over whether the bridge's cables should use the as-yet-untested Bessemer steel or the well-proven crucible steel. Until a permanent contract was awarded, the builders ordered 30 short tons of wire in the interim, 10 tons each from three companies, including Washington Roebling's own steel mill in Brooklyn. Ultimately it was decided to use 8 mm Birmingham gauge crucible steel, and a request for bids was distributed, to which eight companies responded. In January 1877, a contract for crucible steel was awarded to J. Lloyd Haigh, whom Roebling distrusted but who was associated with bridge trustee Abram Hewitt.

The spinning of the wires required the manufacture of large coils of wire, which were galvanized but not oiled when they left the factory. The coils were delivered to a yard near the Brooklyn anchorage where they were dipped in linseed oil, hoisted to the top of the anchorage, dried out and spliced into a single wire, and finally coated with red zinc for further galvanizing. There were thirty-two drums at the anchorage yard, eight for each of the four main cables, of which each drum had a capacity of 60,000 feet of wire. The first experimental wire for the main cables was stretched between the towers on May 29, 1877, and spinning began two weeks later. All four main cables were being strung by that July. During that time, the temporary footbridge was unofficially opened to the general public, who could receive visitor's passes; by August 1877 several thousand visitors from around the world had used the footbridge. The visitor passes ceased that September after a visitor had an epileptic seizure and nearly fell off.

As the wires were being spun, work also commenced on the demolition of buildings on either side of the river for the Brooklyn Bridge's approaches; this work was mostly complete by September 1877. The following month, initial contracts were awarded for the suspender wires, which would hang downward from the main cables and support the deck. By May 1878, the main cables were more than two-thirds complete. However, the following month, one of the wires slipped, killing two people and injuring three other. A subsequent investigation discovered that J. Lloyd Haigh had substituted inferior quality wire in the cables. Of eighty rings of wire that were tested, only five met standards, and it was estimated that Haigh had earned $300,000 from the deception. At this point, it was too late to replace the cables that had already been constructed. Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge only four times as strong as necessary, rather than six to eight times as strong, so the inferior-quality wire was allowed to remain and 150 extra cables were added. The contract for the remaining wire was quietly awarded to the John A. Roebling's Sons company, and by October 5, 1878, the last of the main cables' wires went over the river.

Not everyone supported the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and there was substantial opposition from shipbuilders and merchants located upstream, who objected that the bridge would not provide sufficient clearance underneath for ships. In May 1876 these groups, led by Abraham Miller, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the cities of New York and Brooklyn. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided in 1883 that the Brooklyn Bridge was in fact a lawful structure. After the suspender wires had been placed, workers began erecting steel crossbeams to support the roadway, as part of the bridge's overall superstructure. Construction started on the superstructure in March 1879, but as with the cables, the trustees initially disagreed on whether the steel superstructure should be made of Bessemer or crucible steel. Ultimately in July 1879, the trustees decided to award a contract for 5,000 short tons of steel to the Edgemoor Iron Works, based in Philadelphia, to be delivered by 1880. However, by February 1880 the steel deliveries had not started. That October, the bridge trustees questioned Edgemoor's president about the delay in steel deliveries. Despite Edgemoor's assurances that the contract would be fulfilled, the deliveries still had not been complete by November 1881. Brooklyn mayor Seth Low, who became part of the board of trustees in 1882, became the chairman of a committee tasked to investigate Edgemoor's failure to fulfill the contract. When questioned, Edgemoor's president stated that the delays were the fault of another contractor, the Cambria Iron Company, who was manufacturing the eyebars for the bridge trusses; at that point, the contract was supposed to be complete by October 1882.

Further complicating the situation, Washington Roebling had failed to appear at the trustees' meeting in June 1882, since he had fled to Newport, Rhode Island. After the news media discovered this, many of the newspapers called for Roebling to be fired as chief engineer, with the exception of the Daily State Gazette of Trenton, New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Some of the more longstanding trustees including Henry C. Murphy, James S. T. Stranahan, and William C. Kingsley were willing to vouch for Roebling, since construction progress on the Brooklyn Bridge was still ongoing. However, Roebling's behavior was considered suspect among the younger trustees who had joined the board more recently.

Construction on the bridge itself was noted in formal reports that Murphy presented each month to the mayors of New York and Brooklyn. By early 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was considered mostly completed and was projected to open that June. Contracts for bridge lighting were awarded by February 1883, and a toll scheme was approved that March.The New York and Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883. Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony, and many ships were present in the East River for the occasion. Officially, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge. The bridge opening was also attended by U.S. president Chester A. Arthur and New York mayor Franklin Edson, who crossed the bridge and shook hands with Brooklyn mayor Seth Low at the Brooklyn end. Though Washington Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony (and in fact rarely visited the site again), he held a celebratory banquet at his house on the day of the bridge opening. Further festivity included the performance of a band, gunfire from ships, and a fireworks display. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span.

The bridge had cost US$15.5 million in 1883 dollars to build, of which Brooklyn paid two thirds. The bonds to fund the construction would not be paid off until 1956. An estimated 27 men died during its construction. Since the New York and Brooklyn Bridge was the only one across the East River at that time, it was also called the East River Bridge. Until the construction of the nearby Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 50% longer than any previously built. Less than a week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, ferry crews reported a sharp drop in patronage, while the bridge's toll operators were processing over a hundred people a minute. However, cross-river ferries continued to operate until 1942.

At the time of opening, the Brooklyn Bridge was not yet complete; the proposed public transit across the bridge was still being tested, while the Brooklyn approach was being completed. On May 30, 1883, six days after the opening, a woman falling down a stairway at the Brooklyn approach caused a stampede, which resulted in at least twelve people being crushed and killed. Subsequent lawsuits failed to find negligence on the part of the Brooklyn Bridge Company. However, the company did install emergency phone boxes and additional railings, and the trustees approved a fireproofing plan for the bridge.Public transit service started with the opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable car service, on September 25, 1883. On May 17, 1884, one of circus master P. T. Barnum's most famous attractions, the elephant Jumbo, led a parade of 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge. This helped to lessen doubts about the bridge's stability while also promoting Barnum's circus.

I'm in love with my doubt, but I still don't know how to feel. by Stephen

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Ex Malo Bonum

Fireproof by Wayne Stadler

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The rusty sedan in Bodie California

The Horseshoe Weir at Belper by Lapsus Kalamari

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This shows the Northern arm of The Horseshoe Weir on The River Derwent at Belper, Derbyshire, England, UK. The UK OS Grid Reference is SK345481.

The small town of Belper was founded by Norman monks who called it “Beau Repaire”, which approximately means “lovely sanctuary”.

The weir was installed in 1797 to provide sufficient hydraulic head for a breast-shot suspension wheel that powered the early cotton mills of Jedediah Strutt. It is listed Grade Two Star.

The structure was built to power the West Mill and by 1820 impounded some 5.8 hectares of pond on the Derwent. It was modified and increased in height in 1819 and 1843.

By 1804 the West Mill had been joined by a North Mill on the left ( Southern ) bank of the Derwent. This was equipped with a large but lightly built suspension wheel that was eighteen feet in diameter and twenty feet long. It was by Thomas Hewes. The wheel engaged a spur cog that transmitted power to a shaft that in turn distributed the power to various zoned stories of the building via rigid rods and bevel gears.

The existing North Mill superseded one built in 1786 and burnt down in 1803. Subsequent to advice from Charles Bage who in 1796 built the World’s first iron-framed building, a flax mill at Ditherington, Strutt built the new North Mill of brick arches over a frame of turtle-backed cast-iron beams, mounted on cast-iron columns. The beams are yoked together with wrought-iron ties and the floors lightened with clay pots. The foundations are of stone. Taken together the design is almost fireproof.

Originally, the cotton was carded on the third and fourth floors and spun in 4236 separate threads using water frames on the first and second stories. The sixth floor was a school. Later, mule spinners were installed to diversify the product.

The Strutt Family divested at Belper in the 1950’s and my understanding is that English Sewing Cotton Limited has suspended operations at its Belper sites. The North Mill is open to the public at regular times and is listed Grade One. Together with the Bage flax mill it may be regarded as the ancestor of steel-framed buildings everywhere including classic American skyscrapers though not, alas, of the suspension designs favored by Old World engineers and tragically exemplified by the New York Twin Towers.

Fireproofing Disturbance by Asbestorama

Example of recent clamp attachment to structural steel building member showing disturbance of underlying fireproofing.

FIA WEC - Silverstone 2018 by Jonny Henchman

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FIA World Endurance Championship - Silverstone 2018

Special Edition Prints for Sale: Digital Download or Pro Print

Tutorial: Free eBook Guide to shooting motorsport at Silverstone

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Fireproof by brutalInExile

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Close view of an everpresent sign in the Short North district, Columbus Ohio.

A PRUEBA DE FUEGO - FIREPROOF by lalo 2.0

Josh Brookes by Jonny Henchman

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Yamaha - Milwaukee Yamaha

2015 BSB Championship - Oulton Park Round 3