Recycling Old Ironsides |
Strawbery Banke Presents
HISTORIC PORTSMOUTH #163
In Portsmouth, nothing goes to waste, not even the USS Constitution. Built in 1797, she was way past her prime when assigned to the shipyard at Kittery. Too old for fighting or training, "Old Ironsides" was recycled into a dormitory for cadets. A rare photo shows the ship being "housed over" in the 1880s. The historic tall ship was returned to Charlestown, MA in 1897.
HISTORIC PHOTOS of the Greater Portsmouth Area appear here weekly
This image from the book STRAWBERY BANKE:
A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making
by J. Dennis Robinson
(c) Strawbery Banke Museum Collection
BONUS CLOSE-UP
More on Old Ironsides in Portsmouth Harbor