Palmer Pier HistoryU.S. Navy Seabees built station wharf in 1967Posted January 22, 2010
U.S. Navy Seabees — a specially trained construction battalion that also built the first two research stations at South Pole — constructed Palmer Station's 43-year-old wharf in little more than two months. The frenzy of work in 1967 included not just building the three-celled rounded pier but also included erection of fuel tanks, installation of piping, construction of an underwater trench for the saltwater intake, and preparation of a foundation for the main building. Below are excerpts from an article in the July-August 1967 edition of the Antarctic Journal that details the work on the wharf. Return to main story: Pier pressure. |