Foundation work is well underway by Mark Howe at Richmond’s historic Shipyard 3 in preparation for moving by barge the 200-ton Whirley crane from Levin Terminal. The project was described in TOM BUTT E-FORUM: BE A PART OF HISTORY; CONTRIBUTE TO THE BIG MOVE!, June 11, 2005. The giant Whirley crane was first used to build Grand Coulee Dam and later shipped to Richmond in 1941 for use in the shipyards. It is the only remaining crane of perhaps a hundred or more that once dominated the shipyards. See attached PDF files.

Richmond businesses have been very generous, stepping up to provide to date nearly 95% of the cost of the move. Those who previously  committed are listed in the attached PDF file, and since June 11, the following businesses have also committed resources:

Chevron	$5,000
Republic Services/Richmond Sanitary	$5,000
Plant Reclamation	$1,000
California Oils	$1,000
Jonathon Lawless/Richmond Rotary	$500

In-kind services have been performed or committed by Simsmetal, Saarman Construction, Ltd. And Performance Structures. We are still about $10,000 short of the amount needed to complete the project and move the crane in late August. If you would like to be a part of this project, donations are tax-deductible. Contact me at tom.butt@intres.com, or call me at 510/236-7435.

Whirley_Crane_Foundation_Work_Begins.pdf

Whirley_Crane_Opportunity_to_contribute_with_plans.pdf