Thursday, August 30, 2012

Happy Labor Day Weekend


Photograph of a plaster molder temporarily working in the Old House of Delegates Chamber during the 1948 renovations to the State House Rotunda.
This process of molding was done entirely by hand.
Taken by the Hughes Co.
William Preston Lane Photograph Collection
MSA SC 4082

Friday, August 17, 2012

Investigation Update: Photogrammetric survey of the OSC

Yesterday, Peter Aaslestad of Aaslestad Preservation Consulting LLC visited the Old Senate Chamber to survey the space using architectural photogrammetry, the practice of obtaining information about physical objects through the process of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images. 

Peter Aaslestad performing photogrammetry in the OSC, August 2012.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

"Standing on this spot..."

The dedication of the plaque commemorating where Washington resigned 


Recorded on page 554 of the voluminous (1300 page) proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution, held in Washington, D.C. from April 17-22, 1916, is a record of the activities of the Peggy Stewart Tea Party Chapter for the previous year. Among the Annapolis chapter's expenses is:

"$40.10 for tablet set in floor of Old Senate Chamber to mark the spot where Gen'l Washington stood when he resigned his commission in the Continental Army."


1920 - 1924 
Photograph of reenactment of Washington's resignation in restored Old Senate Chamber 
Howard E. Hayman, Jr. Collection 
MSA SC 1804-02-0058

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Old Senate Chamber Relics Photo—Too Good To Be True?


The circumstances surrounding the creation of the Detroit Photographic Company image captioned “Relics in Museum, U.S. Naval Academy” (Fig. 1) are far more mysterious than the contents of the photo itself.
Figure 1: Photograph of Relics in Museum
Courtesy of the Library of Congress det 4a15044 LC-D4-21356