Titanic Memorial (New York City)

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Titanic Memorial Lighthouse South Street Lighthouse.JPG
Titanic Memorial Lighthouse
Dedication plaque on the Lighthouse Titanic lighthouse plaque jeh.jpg
Dedication plaque on the Lighthouse

The Titanic Memorial is a 60-foot-tall (18 m) lighthouse at Fulton and Pearl Streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was built, due in part to the instigation of Margaret Brown, to remember the people who died on the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. [1] Its design incorporates the use of a time ball.

Contents

History

The lighthouse was originally erected by public subscription in 1913. It stood above the East River on the roof of the old Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey at the corner of South Street and Coenties Slip. [2] From 1913 to 1967 the time ball at the top of the lighthouse would drop down the pole to signal twelve noon to the ships in the harbor. This time ball mechanism was activated by a telegraphic signal, from the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

In July 1968 the Seamen's Church Institute moved to 15 State Street. That year, the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse was donated by the Kaiser-Nelson Steel & Salvage Corporation to the South Street Seaport Museum. It was erected at the entrance to the museum complex, on the corner of Fulton and Pearl streets, in May 1976, with funds provided by the Exxon Corporation. [3]

In 2017, preservation efforts were initiated due to the state of the lighthouse under the auspices of Friends of Titanic Lighthouse Restoration, which was founded in 2019 and whose members include descendants of those aboard the Titanic. Plans under discussion as of 2022 included a potential Titanic museum on Pier 16, [4] and in April 2023 ahead of the anniversary, the Seaport Museum announced the selection of Jan Hird Pokorny Associates as architects for the restoration and that it would be completed in 2024. [5]

Other memorials

Straus Park, 6 miles (9.7 km) away on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at Broadway and West 106th St., is a memorial to Ida and Isidor Straus, who died on Titanic. [6] Additional memorials exist in Canada, England, Northern Ireland, and Washington, D.C.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. Boardman, Mark (March 12, 2012). "Unsinkable Margaret Brown". True West Magazine . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  2. Gray, Christopher (September 11, 2005). "Remembering Victims of a 1912 Disaster" . The New York Times . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  3. Mariners Weather Log . United States Department of Commerce p. 20. 2014.
  4. Gill, John Freeman (2022-07-01). "Neglected Titanic Memorial: 'Like Their Graves Have Not Been Tended'" . The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  5. Wild, Stephi. "South Street Seaport Museum Reveals Architect For Restoration of Titanic Memorial Lighthouse" . Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  6. Russell, Gareth (2019). The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era. Atria Books p. 299. ISBN   978-1-5011-7672-2.

40°42′27″N74°00′14″W / 40.70740°N 74.00386°W / 40.70740; -74.00386