Williamsburg Bridge ironworkers diaries and logs for 1944 to 1983
Description
This accession consists of thirty-two bound volumes of printed daily page forms on which are recorded the principal activities of the unit sometimes designated as the "Bridgemen-Riveters" but more generally known as "the Ironworkers" shop at or underneath the Williamsburg Bridge. The unit, one of several operated by the Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highways, had responsibility for maintenance and repair work on the Williamsburg Bridge and Kosciuszko Bridge plus highway overpasses in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island but this responsibility fluctuated and in the 1940s the records show work on both the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. Each workday page generally lists what each person was doing (including leave time) and how many hours the person or team took to do it. It also notes the weather, particularly if it was inclement. Jobs included inspecting, repairing, oiling joints, fabricating steel parts, measuring, installing, operating various machines, and cutting out rivets, among other duties. During some year jobs were given classification numbers. Location of work sites on bridges is designated "P.P." (panel point) numbers. Additional information such as injuries, receipt of supplies, and vehicle problems is often entered in the back (or front) pages. One of the missing volumes, for 1982, was held aside probably for use in a court case involving a claim against the city by someone who tripped walking a bridge they presumably were working on. An additional volume of the same type, titled "Bonds purchased through the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge War Bond Club," consists of about twenty pages of listings of bond purchases during what appear to be four bond drives between 1942 and 1944. The buyer’s name, number of bonds, denominations, and total amounts are given. Arranged chronologically by year (volumes are annual diaries) and thereunder by day.
Extent
4.00 cubic feet
Dates
1944-1983
Record Groups
Names
External Documents
Source
- New York (N.Y.). Department of Transportation (Organization)
Creator
- New York (N.Y.). Department of Public Works (Organization)
- New York (N.Y.). Transportation Administration (Organization)
- New York (N.Y.). Bureau of Highways (Organization)
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