Ghost Ships in South Philly

Take a look at the Google Map below. This satellite view is of the Delaware River just south of Tasker Avenue. It appears to be the wrecks of several wooden ships half buried in the mud. The Ship just north of the pilings is perhaps in the best shape of the group. The length appears to be about 200 feet or so. You can see the hatches for the holds and the broad beam indicates some type of cargo ship. If you look a little further upriver there is another wreck which is pretty much deteriorated but has a much narrower beam.

My guess is that there was a fire at one time and all of the vessels sunk in place. They may have been sailing vessels or former sailing vessels that were converted to barges. The lines on the most intact of the cargo vessels look a little too elegant to have been a barge.

The narrow beam vessel is also interesting. My guess is that she was an early screw driven steamer. If you look at the pilings it would appear that she could not have been a side-wheeler.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any guesses as to the history of this little ghost fleet



View Larger Map

Photography in the concourses

I came across an interesting account on Flikr about a guy who took a picture of a pigeon on a Pizza Hut sign and was promptly accosted by a Philly Cop and told that it was illegal to take pictures in the concourse without a permit.

That sounds a bit fishy to me. It may be true in that a lot of the concourse is under privately owned buildings and might be considered private property. Other parts of it are under the city streets. When you are underground it is a bit hard to determine exactly where you are.

The guy who wrote the article mentioned the poor guy who was beaten to death a short time earlier and speculates that the cops might want to focus their energies on that and not on some guy taking a photo of a flying rat on a Pizza hut sign. I wholeheartedly agree with that. As he said he wasn't taking pictures of anything sensitive. (Unless the terrorists have deadly plans for pigeons on signs)

So, if you are visiting the city of Brotherly Love, be careful where you point your cameras.