Dan Antion

Thursday Doors – Crane Doors

Crane
I love trains. I love cranes. So, I must love this.

It’s tough to schedule a doorscurrsion when you’re on the road 11 out of 18 days, which has been the second half of March for me. Of course, like all good little children-of-the-Norm, I have doors in reserve for these times. I was going to reach into the closet and grab one of those sets, when Mary suggested a different approach. Yes, this is Mary’s fault. In my doors post, At the Reservoir, Mary left a comment on the photo of the door of an earthmover:

 

“I’m surprised you haven’t done a Thursday crane door post. I bet it’s allowable. Something to think about…”

Come to think of it, I’m surprised too.

The good news, for me, is that I have a group of 140 crane photos on Flickr. Relax! I did NOT include all of them. My point is, that with so many crane photos out there, I was able to collect 15 or so to use, while sitting in my hotel room at night.

I don’t have much to say about these doors, other than the caveat that you may have to search hard to find the “door” on some of these, but I do think there is one in each photo. Keep in mind that you may have to peak through the glass to see the inside of the door. Or, you could just take my word for it. I did try to include some information in the captions, as to where the crane was working.

Thursday Doors is a weekly construction project, orchestrated by renowned virtual real estate developer, Norm Frampton. If you want to participate, share a door(s), draw a door, talk about a door; lift your load and swing the boom over to Norm’s site. Once there, check-in by looking at Norm’s doors, maybe leave a comment, and look for the foreman (identified by the blue frog). Click on him and lower your doors alongside doors from all over the world.

This guy is delivering sheetrock to a new hotel in lower midtown NYC
Working on the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan.
This guy is ready for work in downtown Manhattan.
These cranes are hard at work near the waterfront in Boston.
This crane is working hard in Iowa.
These two guys were working in Washington DC.
The “ribs” on the aerospace magnet school always reminded me of this opening scene.
This is from when they were building the Academy of Science and Aerospace Engineering, a magnet school near our home.
Building restoration in Washington DC
This was a crane I saw outside my hotel in London in 2013.
There has to be a door visible on one of these, or in one of the reflections. These guys are working hard in midtown Manhattan.
When 4-Square was still a thing, I was Mayor of “Under the Tower Crane” behind Jacob Wirth’s in Boston’s theater district.
Also at the construction site in Washington, DC. Work is done for the day.
Done for the day in Washington, DC
This guy in in midtown Manhattan, on our way to the northern entrance to the High Line.
In Washington, DC about 4 blocks from the Capitol.
I see this guy several times a week at Dunkin Donuts. I am always jealous.
This was taken from the High Line in NYC. It looks like a toy, but this is real life – that’s just a really big TV screen!

63 comments

    • Thanks for the bonus points and the inspiration, Mary. This post was easy to do while on the road and I love the subject. Of course, it was hard to keep the number of pictures under 20, but I like a challenge.

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  2. My grandson would love this post Dan! I almost couldn’t get past the intricate maneuvering process in your first photo though. Wow. Do you know it was years before I found out that was ribs that tipped the Flintstones’ car over? Lol. I learned about Four Square when I moved to Little Rock in high school.. It’s definitely not a Southern thing.

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    • Ha ha – that’s 140 that I’ve added to Flickr. Don;t ask how many others there are. If you consider life without cranes, the world would be a dramatically different place. I have always been fascinated by them.

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  5. Today is a crane-worthy day. Nice. I’m always awestruck at those very tall construction cranes but have been too scared to climb one. I wonder how those people who operate them look down and continue working. Up there, I can’t dare look down.
    Thanks Dan.

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      • Yes. I had plenty of opportunities to climb one between 2015 and 2016. I was working on a construction site run by CATIC, the Chinese company.
        I can’t stand height. I struggle from just the 3rd floor. Looking down makes my head spin. And my heart leaps.

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  6. #1 Grandson will love today’s post with all those cranes! He has 3 crane toys already 2 of which are HUGE, and several cherry picker trucks, and last week he checked out a book on cranes from the library. I wonder if this love of cranes will stick throughout his life?

    The first image with the guy with his hands behind his head kickin’ back while the arm, and loader do the work is priceless! I wish I had a witty caption for it, but wit isn’t a gift I got.

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    • I’m guessing your grandson will have a lifelong love affair with them, Deborah. I mentioned earlier that, if I didn’t have a crane toy to play with, I made one from my Erector Set. I also used to wind string through the handles and around knobs of my mothers furniture to lift stuff from the floor.

      I’m guessing that guy remembers delivering sheetrock in the days before they had a lift-truck, or when he was younger and didn’t get the lift-truck. From that position, he also gets to watch the poor slobs that have to unload it and deliver it within the building.

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  7. A very original idea for a doors post; points to both you and Mary :-)
    I must admit to having an irrational fear of cranes. I know it makes no sense but every time I see one I can’t help but think that if someone skipped even one step in the complicated assembly/set-up procedure that whole darn thing could come crashing down…and so I admire them but from afar ;-)
    Good post Dan.

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  8. Of course, I rolled my eyes when I saw cranes and doors and thought, “how is he gonna’ do that?’ Well, darned if you, didn’t! Excellent post, Dan. I especially like the photo looking up–4 square.

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  10. Your crane selection reminds me of the years I spend running chains for a 35 ton overhead crane in a steel foundry. My job was to scamper around a big black beach flipping two loops of chains on and off the big knobs on either end of a steel mold. It was an adventure to say the least….and it taught me to keep a sharp eye on whatever was happening around me. :)

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  15. Freedom tower lookin all kindsa interesting — I love all the color differences as the skin goes on the bones. That’s a great shot.
    I’m also a bit partial to the toy scene, which really had me looking.
    Well done! :)

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  16. Dan, I would never have made the connection between the Flintstones scene and the Academy of Science and Aerospace Engineering building. But seeing them together it seems obvious. Too fun.
    Have a thriving Thursday. Hugs!

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  18. Wow, am almost bowled over by all these cranes here! You’re giving me a great idea – have some pics of cranes n my archives! Have you thought on taking pics with your phone of ipad (the last I do, when we’re traveling)? Hope the time on the road is soon over!

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  20. Great images. Whenever I see cranes I think of the guy handling it and the hand eye coordination that makes this job possible. One wrong reflex and disaster can happen.

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  25. Guess you lifted the top off of Norm’s TD now so the skies are the limit for doors from hereon! I understand those tower crane operators are paid well; story I heard is the operator goes up to the cab and its an all day job, eating and doing personal stuff up there too cause you can’t go up and down the ladder during the day. When I worked for a private construction company in the 1980s there was a crane crash in San Francisco’s financial district and our project manager just drove past the building a few hours before the accident – I always look up if a building is under construction these days. Nice to get to post stuff you’ve been collecting all these years and finally found there was a reason for it. :)

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    • Thanks. I have heard the same thing about the work-a-day life style. Sounds tough, but that’s a long trek and on many sites, that crane sets the pace. There have been some crashes these past few years in New York. I can’t imagine the horror of being in the cab at that point.

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  26. Whoa, Dan — you have 140 crane pics, and you gave us only a SAMPLE?!? O_o Ha, seriously, these are some good shots. Working in the city as I do, I see cranes on a regular basis, but you got some very good views here (especially that one with the sun behind it). Nice job!

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    • Thanks Paul – several of these are from your city :) I never pass by a crane without at least attempting to get a picture. I just love them. When I’m in WDC, I have to allow extra time between stops.

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