John J. Harvey on the Hudson River.
(Photograph Howard Paulman)
Here is a golden opportunity to cruise or make a visit to this historic former fireboat while she makes her annual 300-mile trip up the Hudson between Manhattan, Albany and Troy, from August 11 to 23, 2004.
One of the most powerful fireboats ever built is now owned, since 1999, by a group of eight preservationists. The John J. Harvey is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is slated to be designated a National Historic Landmark joining the steamboat Delta Queen and Statue of Liberty.
When new in 1931, the Harvey’s powerful pumps could arc water over the George Washington Bridge roadway, and in 2001, she spent 80 straight hours transferring water from the Hudson to NYC fire trucks following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Now residing at Pier 63, Foot of West 23rd Street, she offers occasional public trips and charter group outings.
Beginning August 11 and lasting to August 23, the Harvey will cruise the Hudson calling at Bear Mountain, Cold Spring, Kingston, Catskill, Hudson, Albany and Troy and more than a half dozen additional towns. .
Click on the calendar for the schedule of the 4th Annual Blue Links Hudson River Trip at www.fireboat.org for 1) multiple-hour trips from one landing to the next; 2) short trips to and from a single landing; and 3) visitations along the route. Trips are free, but a donation is welcome to ensure her continued operation. Trips from one landing to another are by reservation and may be sold out, and local jaunts and visits are first-come, first-served.
Currently operating New York City fireboats are John D. McKean (1954), docked at Gansvoort Street Marine 1; Governor Alfred E. Smith (1961) and Kevin C. Kane (1992), docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Marine 6; and Firefighter (1938) at Staten Island Marine 9.
Dress to get a bit wet when the Harvey shows her stuff, as I experienced on Wednesday, August 4th during a two-hour evening cruise, sponsored by the Historic House Trust of New York City, from Pier 63 to the Statue of Liberty, Erie Basin, Atlantic Basin and the Brooklyn Bridge.
When she returns to New York on August 23rd, she will take up residence at Pier 63, a former Lackawanna Railroad barge, and alongside an Erie Railroad caboose, the Lightship Frying Pan and an outdoor café.
