The Philadelphia Waterfront and the Cruiser Olympia

My hotel in Philadelphia was on the river, with this view of the waterfront, so during breaks in yesterday's wedding events and then again this morning I naturally walked up and down these piers.

 

 View toward the Ben Franklin Bridge. 

My favorite part of the waterfront was the cruiser USS Olympia, a relic of the steampunk age of naval warfare. Launched in 1895, Olympia was Admiral Dewey's flagship of during the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, and its 8-inch main guns fired the first shots of the battle.

Besides the main guns, the ship had ten 5-inch guns mounted in casemates along the sites, and forteen 6-pounder anti-torpedo boat guns, plus a couple of gatling guns.

This was a state-art-of-the-art warship, with advanced armor, navigation systems, and everything else.

Her engines achieved 17,300 horsepower, and the ship could steam at up to 21.6 knots. Her crew was 411 men. Sadly, I didn't get on board to see the machinery, so these are someone else's pictures.

The ship had been modified over the years by the Navy, but she was acquired in 1957 by the Olympia Association, which returned her to her 1898 appearance.

Now she is the oldest US steel warship afloat. The Friends of the Cruiser Olympia are raising money to insure her preservation.