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* 7 to & N is I Cc w i) 134 S ; = Main entrance to Atlantic Works of Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., East Boston, Mass. Main office building in foreground Historic Atlantic Works Modernized Yard Incorporated at East Boston in 1853 now an Up-to-Date Ship Repair Plant Fitted with Efficient Machinery HE completion of a thorough pro- gram of modernization of the At- lantic Works of Bethlehem Ship- building Corp. rounds out a compre- hensive plan of development during the past few years which has included all of Bethlehem’s ship repair facilities on the East coast. These comprise three units. The Baltimore Dry Docks works at Baltimore, Md., is a new plant equipped to handle any and all kinds of jobs on any size of vessel coming into Baltimore harbor. The Simpson Dry Dock plant at East Boston, which was re-equipped and rebuilt several years earlier, has facilities for taking care of the needs of all the larger ocean going vessels. Lastly comes the At- lantic Works, which with the Simpson Dry Dock plant, operate as the Bethle- hem plant. The Atlantic Works spe- cializes on jobs pertaining to harbor vessels, tugs, fishing boats, etc., but with the available docking facilities can take care of vessels up to 450 feet in length. The Atlantic Works was incorporated in 1853. During all the years this or- ganization has been an important fac- tor in the marine field in and about Boston. At the time of incorporation, it had large shops and specialized in the building of engines and boilers. From this it was an easy transition to the building of ships. During the Civil war two monitors and the turrets and engines for several others were built. It was not until 1892 that the Atlantic 56 By G. A. Richardson Works constructed its first marine rail- way although it later took over the railways of the East Boston Dry Dock Co., which dated back to 1853. In the years that followed there was a steady expansion in facilities both by the process of absorption of outside plants and the building of new units. In 1922 Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. became actively identified with ship repair work in Boston harbor by buying out the Simpsons Patent Dry Dock Co. In 1926 Bethlehem purchased the Atlantic Works. The activities of the Atlantic and Simpson works cover a period of tre- mendous changes. It is a far cry from the days of clipper ships when the East Boston water front was one continuous line of shipbuilding yards, dry docks, and marine railways. Those were the times of world-beating records. The building of each new ship was.a real event. Donald McKay and Samuel Hall surpassed themselves with each new vessel turned out, and these two famous names are intimately tied up with the story of the Boston plant. In 1853, 22 shipbuilding yards existed in East Boston. It was an era when the romance of shipping was _ intensified and the glamor of those days has grown rather than diminished. Despite this background of romantic history and traditions which have come down through the years, Bethlehem’s two re- pair plants comprising the Boston plant are not handicapped by lack of MARINE REVIEW—November, 1931 and Equipment progressiveness. Both are up to the minute in every respect as regards equipment and organization. When Bethlehem took over the At- lantic works, immediate steps were taken to put it in the very best oper- ating condition. Although the _ loca- tion of existing units necessarily had a bearing on the arrangement, the aim has been to plan things so that mate- rial can be moved to and from the va- rious places with a minimum amount of effort and handling. The ground area covered is approximately fourteen acres and the actual available floor Space in the shops is approximately 60,000 square feet. The equipment con- sists of machinery and facilities of the most modern types and any kind of ship repair work, regardless of its char- acter, can be handled within the limits of the docking capacities. Skilled me- chanics are available for taking care of all work rélating to diesel engines, turbines and reciprocating engines. Total length of piers available is 1990 feet. In addition to the general run of ship work, the plant specializes in sta- tionary work for shore plants. The ma- chine shop is a jobbing shop with many special machines, such as marble grinders, macaroni machines, etc. As a rule, those who make use of the facilities of a plant of this character are primarily interested in knowing that they are adequate and modern so that work can be done promptly and efficiently. At this point, therefore, cer- “laa A a ca a A