  Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 1685 Registered: 03-2006 |
the bridge scares the hell out of me and today people have to get escorted across due to winds, but either way it is the 50th bday of our beloved bridge | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3327 Registered: 10-2003 |
Happy Birthday Mac! You are as beautiful as the day you were born. | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 925 Registered: 11-2003 |
I thought this was a hamburger thread. They should have hooked out with Mc D's and handed out some Big Macs as part of the celebration. The other Big Mac turned 40 this year. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 2055 Registered: 01-2004 |
40?? no wonder they never taste very fresh anymore. | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 3660 Registered: 10-2003 |
Actually, if you leave them in the fridge overnight and eat 'em cold, they're quite delicious. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2930 Registered: 10-2003 |
And if you leave 'em in the freezer overnight, you can kick a 53-yard field goal with 'em. | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 187 Registered: 01-2005 |
The Mac sure is feat of engineering for its day. It is one of Flyby’s favorite landmarks to photograph. http://www.aerialpics.com/H/ma ckinacbridge.html | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 5587 Registered: 11-2003 |
jjaba sat this Fall on the porch of the Windermere Hotel, Mackinac Island, watching the sun set on the Straits of Mackinac Bridge. It was a sight to behold. He drove up from Detroit, parked at St. Ignace Star boat dock, and then drove to Chicago through the UP, stopping to piss on Lambaugh Field in Green Bay. It was lovely week. jjaba, in his rental Ford Fusion. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2170 Registered: 01-2005 |
Beautiful shots, Flybydon. Seeing the entire 5-mile length in those photos makes one realize what a marvel it is. I was in Lambaugh Field that day, Jjaba. Now I know where the yellow snow came from...... | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 10834 Registered: 12-2003 |
I've driven it four times in the past month, it really is majestic, quite a monument to mere humankind's engineering and assembly abilities. I just tried to punt a frozen Big Mac and ended up with approximately 54 little broken bones across the top of my foot. (Didn't trust Lucy to hold the damn thing...) | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3329 Registered: 10-2003 |
Don, if I may borrow one of your beautiful pictures a moment... I've stood on this pylon once.  Was passing underneath the bridge on a boat, and decided to hop onto it just to say I did. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 2002 Registered: 11-2003 |
Michigan History Magazine did a full-issue special on the Mackinac Bridge a couple of months ago, and their site advertises it for $10 while copies last.It was really well done, and brought back memories for me as I worked at the Grand as a bellman when the bridge was being built. The view from the porch was awesome, especially at night. Speaking of the Westsider and his trip through Green May,I was there, too, Ray36. It was not only snowing, but it appears that jjaba spelled his name jjab on the playing field. Maybe he is getting old, a tad forgetful or just did not have enough to finish the job. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3908 Registered: 02-2005 |
This is one of most impressive structures over one of the most beautiful waterways in the world. 5 miles...I think 4.1 of them are in the air. It's pretty amazing. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 957 Registered: 10-2003 |
I remember the backups for the ferry during the summer. Anyone have pictures or know of a site that deals with the old ferry system? | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2172 Registered: 01-2005 |
I had some old family 16 mm films of one of our crossings on the ferry. May have converted it to tape. I'll have to do some digging. Circa 1939 or so. | ||
Edgar_rhode Member Username: Edgar_rhode Post Number: 4 Registered: 09-2007 |
was cleaning out some junk yesterday and came across an old stamp album ( another failed attempt at establishing a childhood hobby ) anyhow this stamp came to mind when i saw this thread.  i guess thats the iconic view of the bridge based on the “logo” at the website. http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ (Message edited by Edgar_rhode on November 02, 2007) | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6753 Registered: 02-2004 |
Thanks to Gov. Osborn for that proposed Big Mac bridge. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 498 Registered: 05-2004 |
Ever go to Mama Mia's (in the city) to see the museum on how they built the bridge? You could go upstairs and watch the film while waiting for your pie and see artifacts from the construction. The place burnt down a few years ago but has been rebuilt. The owner worked on the bridge and is often around. The bridge is a trip to cross when it is windy or (better yet) when it is foggy out. | ||
Andyguard73 Member Username: Andyguard73 Post Number: 255 Registered: 03-2006 |
I work at the library here at CMU, and down in Clarke Library the current display is on the political history of the bridges construction. Part of the display is an 101' long, 8' tall model of the bridge built out of erector set pieces over the last 5 years. Built by retired CMU staff member Frosty Wyrick, it was a key piece of Mackinaw City's celebrations earlier this summer. This article has the story, and in it he says that he plans to display it at the DSC. http://www.lib.cmich.edu/pubs/reference_point_Fall_07.pdf Here's a pic of Mr. Wyrick setting up the bridge at the library:  | ||
14509glenfield Member Username: 14509glenfield Post Number: 1322 Registered: 05-2006 |
You are as magnificent as the day that you were born. | ||
Hardhat Member Username: Hardhat Post Number: 217 Registered: 10-2003 |
Here's a link to a series of articles related to the construction of the Mighty Mac. There are first-hand accounts by tradespeople who built the bridge, as well as some historic photos. http://www.detroitbuildingtrad es.org/paper.html | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2179 Registered: 01-2005 |
Found my old 1939 home movie shots of crossing the straits by ferry, but (1) they're awfully fuzzy and not worth trying to convert to a digital photo, and (2) they mostly show family on the boat and only one brief shot of the boat itself. I'm sure there's better shots on the web. Jeez, I was pudgy as a kid.......... | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 2004 Registered: 11-2003 |
douglasm---The bridge website, mackinacbridge.org and the Michigan History magazine issue I mentioned above have both photos and narrative about the old Highway Department ferrys. Both are very interesting reading/viewing.the MDOT website also has photos. When I worked on the Island, I found a life ring from the City of Munising which was from one of those ferrys made obsolete when the bridge opened. I donated it to the Dossin in 1962 where it hung on the wall for several years. When I was on the bell staff of the Grand, I checked in a man from Munising who told me he had been the mayor of Munising when the ferry had its name change in 1938 from Pere Marquette20 to City of Munising and he was "handed the keys to the vessel". Some of the ferrys ended their days storing potatoes, the Straits of Mackinac became a ferry to the Island, and the poor Vacationland ended her days on the bottom of the Pacific ocean. I still have pleasant memories of my dad driving our car onto those boats for the relatively short trip across the Straits. | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 191 Registered: 01-2005 |
Hardhat, nice piece. Thanks for the link. |
