Wednesday, April 11, 2012

THE LAST POUR - Fort McHenry Tunnel 1985

"The Last Pour" gouache on paper (9" x 12") 1985
  In 1985, during one of my frequent visits on foot to watch the construction workers prepare the highway entrance to the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, MD, I met a man named “Reds” House. He worked for  the Arundel  Corporation and might as well have had the title “ambassador to the tunnel’s construction.”  He was thrilled by my enthusiasm for his project. At our first meeting he gave me a ride in his "radio car" and we toured the tunnel before it opened to the public. He took great pleasure in explaining the sophisticated fabrication procedure to me. It's hard to believe that a project like this could be accomplished. During our last encounter I was fortunate enough to witness the very last concrete pour of the entire Fort McHenry tunnel. It would complete the link that connected the east coast from Maine to Florida via Interstate Highway 95. “Reds” is in the painting wearing his  hard hat and supervising the concrete as it “cemented” this historic day. It was good to the last drop.