On Friday I had a few miscellaneous tasks to accomplish, most of which weren't worth taking a picture of. I found we have plenty of spare parts for a deal of the week that we're working on, so stay tuned. And checked some of the bearings, straightened things up, and so on.
Meanwhile, I can report that Tim continues to make steady progress on the interior of the 1808. As always, it's being done to the highest standards.
And here we have an interesting car card. You could take the Northwestern Elevated to the "Aviation Field" back in the old days. Remember Meigs Field? It just disappeared without warning one night, vanishing into history like Atlantis.
Jewell Road
Spring is here, so it's time to get back to restoring the Jewell Road shelter. I think I mentioned this last year, but right now three sides have been repainted, and there's one more to do. My plan is to make new wood parts for the entire side (or most of it), paint them on all six sides, and then tear the old siding off and replace it. It should be possible to do that in a day.
Today Dave Diamond let me borrow a pickup and the B&G credit card, so I could drive to Woodstock and pick up the wood I needed.
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When I got back, I unloaded the wood. I decided that it wasn't feasible to take the long boards home, so they've been stored in the wood shop and will be prepared at the Museum. The shorter boards on either side of the window can be done at home easily enough.
And I should point out that this project is being funded through the B&G Restricted Fund. You can help keep the Museum grounds and structures in good condition, and help the entire campus continue to grow and expand, with a contribution to the B&G Restricted Fund. Thanks!!!
Update: After less than an hour's work, I started on the boards I took home, ripped them to the correct width, and beveled the corners accurately.
But wait -- those corners don't look quite square. That's embarrassing! How could that happen???
On the other hand, perhaps if I play around with these boards long enough, I can get them to fit together somehow. It'll just have to be good enough for Museum work.
I think the car card is from a time when what we still know as Grant Park was used as an airfield. Meigs Field didn't open until 1948. That card probably dates between 1918 and 1924.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field
I find it hard to imagine an airplane landing in Grant Park, but I suppose it might have been possible. Thanks for pointing that out.
ReplyDeleteMilwaukee had a similar airport, Maitland field at its lakefront. It became a Nike site in the 50's and then the current Summerfest site in the 60's.
ReplyDeleteC Kronenwetter
Grant Park was used as an airport!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.chipublib.org/blogs/post/history-of-grant-park-1915-1930/
"During the teens and 1920s, the South Park Commissioners built a number of ornamental viaducts across the Illinois Central tracks and extended roads into the new parkland. They also engaged in landscaping and accepted the gift of Buckingham Fountain.
The wide open grassy spaces proved ideal for landing airplanes. Grant Park became the official U.S. Mail airfield and a number of aviation meets were held there. After the Winged Foot Express disaster, most of the aviation activity moved to outlying fields."
I suspect it's a recreation of an original ad (that may survive only as part of a photograph) that used "closed enough" modern fonts.
ReplyDelete