Departure from the West Side Piers of New York City with a good look at the activity in New York Harbor. The Destroyer USCGD Ammen (CG-8) passes.
Arrival at Hamilton, Bermuda, with a small crowd awaiting on the dock. Front Street is seen from the deck with a policeman directing traffic on a raised platform where the Birdcage would be constructed many years later.
From the lawn of Waterloo House, a ship is seen leaving (M.V. Bermuda?) closely followed by the new Tender “Mid Ocean” soon to be renamed “Castle Harbour”. A turn to the right is the P.W’s dock where a large tall ship can be seen docked behind the sheds. A quick glimpse of where the Waterfront at Pitts Bay complex is now, previously Miles Supermarket, shows It was quite the collection of buildings then.
We move to the garden of the Hamilton Princess Hotel and have a look at the Harbor and “Widdrington”, the mansion at the entrance of Pitts Bay. The cottages have a new Limestone dock wall, and the palms are newly planted - this area is now the Bay Wing.
On Pitts Bay Road, we get a look East at a 2-story home with veranda, presumably at the junction of Woodbourn Avenue (now the Outerbridge building). Then West to a building with arches and the gatepost to Waterloo Cottage with a group of boys hanging out on the wall. Looking further West you see the wall to the estate "Conyerston" which is now the Bacardi World Headquarters.
From Barrs Bay Park, you can just see the entrance to the sandy boat slip behind Bluck’s and the property that would become the RBYC. Venturing further into Hamilton, Queen Street has 2-way traffic and there are lots of sparrows cleaning the street.
“The Yankee Store” is at the corner of Queen and Reid Streets and the Phoenix Clock is outside Mr. Doe’s store with the Hamilton Hotel in the distance.
A visit to the Bermudiana Hotel gardens is next, including an amazing look North at the Bermudiana Hotel service road from the pedestrian bridge. This is now Bermudiana Road.
On the water, a pair of ships are anchored off the North Shore and the abandoned & sunk floating dock is largely intact grounded at Spanish point. A pair of the Liners’ lifeboats pass on their way back to the ship, the tender “Mid Ocean” soon to be renamed “Castle Harbour” and a sporty flat bow craft is seen over at the Paget shoreline.
Looking across the harbor, the large sailing ship can still be seen docked at the Waterfront complex next to Waterloo House and at the very end of the film we closely pass the ship from the water.
This film has been identified as from between November 1929 and May 1930
USCGD Ammen was one of the pre-World War I 742-ton "flivvers". All were capable of over 25 knots, an advantage in the rum-chasing business. They, however, were easily outmaneuvered by smaller vessels. The destroyers’ mission, therefore, was to picket the larger supply ships ("mother ships") and prevent them from off-loading their cargo onto the smaller, speedier contact boats that ran the liquor into shore. Ammen was among the first group of destroyers loaned to the Coast Guard. She was first originally stationed at Hoboken, NJ and then transferred to Stapleton, NY.
15 дек 2023
