• Sunday-What'sUP July 29 - 09:07 pm

It's a Golden Anniversary weekend at the Straits of Mackinac. Yesterday the bridge was actually shut down for a time for the 50th celebration. Today's Shoebox Memory comes to us courtesy of the Upper Peninsula Digitization Center, with thanks also to Neil Harri for the more recent aerial view.

There are many hundreds of photos archived at the UPDC website which chronicle the planning and building of the Mackinac Bridge. The two photographers - in the first and the last shot - were probably responsible for many of those pictures. I could hardly believe it when I stumbled onto the aerial shot of the construction, which had to be taken within a few feet of the airspace where Neil snapped last Thursday's Pasty Cam.

To learn more about the celebration and the history of the 'gateway to the U.P.' see the official MDOT website.

If you are relatively new to the Pasty Cam, welcome to our little corner of the Internet. There's a lot to discover here, including over 100,000 photos and over a decade of daily comments from former, current, and future Yoopers who share our love for the U.P. If you happen to be in the Copper Country tomorrow evening - Monday July 30 at 7pm - please join us at the Hut in Kearsarge for a stroll down memory lane - and a taste of Pasty Central pasties. I'll be sharing a little of the history of this project, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute's 'Key Ingredients' exhibit which is currently in Calumet.

Have a good week :o)

Very interesting pictures of the Mighty Mac.

That guy in the first photo has more guts than I would ever have. He hardly has any space to stand! Pix are awesome though!

That is close to the shot I took last week of the Mac. It has the same perspective as the North tower appears to be tilted left. I am sure that is not actually the case.

Did anyone watch the fireworks at the bridge last night??

Up until very recently, Ironworkers worked without tying off. It is now required that they have a safety harness and lanyard at heights over 6 feet. Shock absorbing lanyards and continuous tie-offs are required at any height where the shock absorbing lanyard can deploy. This is not always enforced and there is some resistance by older Ironworkers, so one might find some not tied off. Check out some of the pictures of the construction of Quincy #2 shafthouse in 1908. The whole crew is standing on top - some even on top of the new pulley stands. That is a good example of Ironworker bravado.

What wonderful pictures! I'll be crossing that beauty in six days. Can't wait!

We crossed the Big Mac on Friday morning(11:30AM) in the rain and fog going home after a wonderful trip to the Keweenaw. The fog was so thick you did not see the towers until you were almost to them not the clear pictures posted here.

Was thinking about all my pals having a gathering to celebrate the 50th. Hope the fireworks were a grand presentation.

Hope everyone has a great time. My family was one of those that didn't appreciate the ferry so it was always down to Chicago, then to Michigan.

The Photographer in the lower picture holding that 4x5 Graphic looks like the late Tony Spina of the Detroit "Free Press."

My family and I went to the fireworks at the bridge last night. They were very good. However, the moon rising over the bridge was also spectacular. From our vantage point at St. Ignace, we could see all three fireworks shows at once. It was a nice evening and a good way to celebrate my daughter's thirteenth birthday (the real reason for the fireworks.) It was a fitting end to a wonderful week in the UP.

Amazing pictures, I prefer the bridge with a road on it! The ferry would have been something to see but my daughter is happy for the bridge since she hates the Drummond Island Ferry. She actually told me if there was no bridge she would just swim across.

I believe the image in the first photo is actually reversed and that
we are looking north at St. Ignace. Either way it looks like it was a
glorious day to be on the bridge.

My good friend Russ and me would enjoy standing like the man on top of the world,looking up down all around. Wouldn't we good friend?

There are several images of bridge workers tightening the individual cable strands during the spinning operation in the U of M's Bentley Historical Library.

Just type in Mackinaw in the image bank search box.


http://bentley.umich.edu/

I thought that the anniversary was in November. What is the significance of today's date?

Just found some time to visit the Upper Peninsula Digitization Center and did a simple search for Mackinaw Bridge.

Wow! Have they got images. Charlie, I can't believe that you took the time to go through all of them to get these two images.

I know, I can't properly spell Mackinac.
We should be able to edit these posts.