HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGENEERING RECORD
The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) was established in 1969 by the National Park Service, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Library of Congress to document historic sites and structures related to engineering and industry. This agreement was later ratified by four other engineering societies: the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. Appropriate subjects for documentation are individual sites or objects, such as a bridge, ship, or steel works; or larger systems, like railroads, canals, electronic generation and transmission networks, parkways and roads. From its inception, HAER focused less on the building fabric and more on the machinery and processes within, although structures of distinctly industrial character continue to be recorded. In recent years, maritime documentation has become an important program focus and they have associate with the Maritime Administration, (MARAD).
In the summer of 2017 I participate with my fellows architecture intern Cristina Montenegro and Diana Serrano in the program. That year the team documented varios ships, the main engine of the Nuclear Ship Savannah, Gas Turbine Admiral William M. Callaghan and Steamship Cape Inscription. We worked under the supervision of Todd Croteau.
N.S. Savannah was the first nuclear powered merchant ship. Built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million, including a $28.3 million nuclear reactor and fuel core, funded by United States government agencies, Savannah was a demonstration project for the potential use of nuclear energy. Launched on July 21, 1959, and named after SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean, she was in service between 1962 and 1972 as one of only four nuclear-powered cargo ships ever built. Savannah was deactivated in 1971 and after several moves has been moored at Pier 13 of the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, since 2008.
The GTS Admiral W. M. Callaghan, was first constructed to be used in an industrial capacity but later optioned by Military Sealift Command to be used in logistical work throughout the fleet to deal with the changing needs of the military. The ship was delivered in 1967 and was used for transport responsibilities during the Vietnam War. It has been used in a variety of different services in its history since it was initially launched, including the War on Terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The SS Cape Inscription was originally launched in 1975 as the SS Maine. The States SS company took the first contract in 1976 and it operated until 1979, when it was purchased by Whitney National Bank. Later on 1987 the ship was reacquired from its commercial roles and brought back under military control under the Maritime Administration and renamed the SS Cape Inscription. Since then it has been kept in ready reserve status and used occasionally for heavy lifting operations to European theaters to have the equipment air-lifted to active engagements.
