Titanic Memorial (New York City)

Last updated
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, in part at 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 Seaman's Church Institute of New York building in about 1934, with the lighthouse and time ball atop the building Seamen's Church Institute of New York building at 25 South Street c 1934.png
The Seaman's Church Institute of New York building in about 1934, with the lighthouse and time ball atop the building

The lighthouse was originally erected by public subscription and was formally dedicated on April 15, 1913, the one-year anniversary of the sinking, with an address given by Episcopal bishop David H. Greer. [2] [3] 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. [4] From 1913 to 1967, a time ball at the top of the lighthouse would be raised to the top of the rod and dropped down the pole to signal twelve noon to ships in New York Harbor; the time ball mechanism was activated by a telegraphic signal transmitted from the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. [2] [5]

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. [6]

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. [7] 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. [8]

Other memorials

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time signal</span> Signal used as a reference to determine the time of day

A time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Phillips (wireless officer)</span> RMS Titanic wireless operator (1887–1912)

John George "Jack" Phillips was a British sailor and the senior wireless operator aboard the Titanic during her ill-fated maiden voyage in April 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Street Seaport</span> United States historic place

The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, within the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district. It is part of Manhattan Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, and is next to the East River to the southeast and the Two Bridges neighborhood to the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time ball</span> Time-signalling device

A time ball or timeball is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their marine chronometers. Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of longitude at sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Race</span> Cape in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", meaning flat or low-lying. The Cape appeared on early sixteenth century maps as Cabo Raso and its name may derive from a cape of the same name at the mouth of the Tagus River in Portugal. The cape was the location of the Cape Race LORAN-C transmitter until the system was decommissioned in 2010. It is also home to the Cape Race Lighthouse, notable for having received the distress call from the RMS Titanic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Hartley</span> English violinist (1878–1912)

Wallace Henry Hartley was an English violinist and bandleader on the Titanic during its maiden voyage. He became famous for leading the eight-member band as the ship sank on 15 April 1912. He and the rest of the band died.

Sinking of the <i>Titanic</i> 1912 maritime disaster

RMS Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, with an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 on 14 April. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 ship's time on 15 April resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Seaport Museum</span> Maritime Museum in Pennsylvania, United States

The Independence Seaport Museum was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Museum document maritime history and culture along the Delaware River. At the museum are two National Historic Landmark ships and the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jane</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Jane is a boutique hotel at 505–507 West Street, on the northeastern corner with Jane Street, in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed in 1908 by the American Seaman's Friend Society (ASFS) as a sailors' boarding house called the American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute. The Jane was designed by William A. Boring in the Georgian style and is a New York City designated landmark.

Crew of the <i>Titanic</i> Crew of liner that sank in April 1912

The crew of the Titanic were among the estimated 2,240 people who sailed on the maiden voyage of the second of the White Star Line's Olympic-class ocean liners, from Southampton, England, to New York City in the United States. Halfway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people, including approximately 688 crew members.

United States lightship <i>Frying Pan</i> (LV-115)

Frying Pan (LV-115) is a lightvessel moored at Pier 66a in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It served at Frying Pan Shoals, off Cape Fear in North Carolina, for over 30 years.

The Maritime Institute of Ireland (MII) was founded in 1941, at a time when World War II was raging and many seamen were in great peril of either being severely injured or losing their lives. Ireland, being an island nation, was dependent on the sea for all forms of movement external to the island as well as for many goods, particularly fuels that were required to keep the economy going. There was therefore a resurgence of interest in all things to do with the sea.

<i>Titanic</i> British passenger liner that sank in 1912

RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank on 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, 1,496 died, making the incident one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a single ship. Titanic, operated by the White Star Line, carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and elsewhere in Europe who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada. The disaster drew public attention, spurred major changes in maritime safety regulations, and inspired a lasting legacy in popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holyrood Church</span> Church in Hampshire, England

Holyrood Church was one of the original five churches serving the old walled town of Southampton, England. Built in 1320, the church was destroyed by enemy bombing during the blitz in November 1940. In 1957 the shell of the church was dedicated as a memorial to the sailors of the Merchant Navy. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Legends and myths regarding the <i>Titanic</i> "Unsinkable" ship and other made-up details

There have been several legends and myths surrounding the RMS Titanic and its destruction after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. These have ranged from stories involving the myth about the ship having been described as "unsinkable" to the myth concerning the final song played by the ship's musicians.

Memorials and monuments to victims of the <i>Titanic</i>

Memorials and monuments to victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic exist in a number of places around the world associated with Titanic, notably in Belfast, Liverpool and Southampton in the United Kingdom; Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada; and New York City and Washington, D.C. in the United States. The largest single contingent of victims came from Southampton, the home of most of the crew, which consequently has the greatest number of memorials. Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and had a "guarantee party" of engineers from shipbuilders Harland and Wolff aboard all of whom were lost in the disaster and are commemorated by a prominent memorial in the city. Other contingents of engineers aboard the ship came from the maritime cities of Liverpool in England and Glasgow in Scotland, which erected their own memorials. Several prominent victims, such as Titanic's captain, were commemorated individually. Elsewhere, in the United States and Australia, public memorials were erected to commemorate all the victims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Thayer</span> American socialite and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic

Marian Longstreth Thayer was an American socialite and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. She was the wife of John Borland Thayer II, a Director and Second Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and the mother of John Borland "Jack" Thayer III. In 1912, all three of them, along with their maid Margaret Fleming, were passengers on RMS Titanic maiden voyage when it struck an iceberg and sank. Marian, Jack III, and Fleming all survived, but John II died.

The ocean liner Titanic has been extensively portrayed in films, books, memorials and museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Elkins Widener</span> American heiress (c.1861–1937)

Eleanor Elkins Widener was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress who donated Widener Library to Harvard University as a memorial to her elder son, Harry Elkins Widener, who along with her first husband, George Dunton Widener, perished in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalbeattie Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Dalbeattie, Scotland

Dalbeattie Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as community events venue, is a Category B listed building.

References

  1. Boardman, Mark (March 12, 2012). "Unsinkable Margaret Brown". True West Magazine . Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Give Lighthouse For Titanic's Dead; Tower on Seamen's Institute Dedicated Before Those Who Created It.", The New York Times , April 16, 1913. Accessed December 21, 2023. "With services commemorating the heroism and sacrifice of the officers, crew, and passengers who went to their death with the Titanic, just one year ago yesterday, the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Tower and Time Ball were dedicated yesterday afternoon at the Seamen's Church Institute, 25 South Street, in the presence of more than 200 persons.... Surmounting the tower is a time ball, to be hoisted to the top of a steel rod five minuters before 12 o'clock each noon and dropped when the time is flashed over the wires from Washington."
  3. "Dedicate Titanic Memorial Lighthouse", Edmonton Journal , April 15, 1913. Accessed December 21, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Today, the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, men prominent in church, business and shipping circles gathered at the Seamen's Church institute, on the lower water front to dedicate the Titanic memorial lighthouse tower erected to the memory of the men and women who went down with the ship."
  4. Gray, Christopher (September 11, 2005). "Remembering Victims of a 1912 Disaster" . The New York Times . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  5. 1913: Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Commemorates Victims of Ocean Tragedy", Newsday , August 24, 2005. Accessed December 21, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "From 1913 until 1967 a black 'time ball' at the top activated by a telegraphic signal from the National Observatory in Washington DC dropped at noon every day signaling the time to ships in the harbor."
  6. Mariners Weather Log . United States Department of Commerce p. 20. 2014.
  7. 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.
  8. Wild, Stephi (April 13, 2023). "South Street Seaport Museum Reveals Architect For Restoration of Titanic Memorial Lighthouse". Broadway World. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  9. 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