A rainy weekend in Norwich

We're getting ready to head out to Greenport, Long Island at the end of next week and we had a few things to do to get ready.  We changed the spark plugs and wires on the port engine only to find that the plugs that were in there were perfectly fine but they weren't our plugs so now we have a maintenance history on the plugs and ignition cables on both engines.  We tinkered with the stuffing boxes to get that tiny drip that we like to see and generally put things away.  Others on the dock were doing much the same thing.  Here Lou puts a new bow line on his Four Winns while John helps by chatting on his cell phone.

We also brought down gas cans and added 20 gallons to our fuel tanks.  We hate doing this but the Marina at American Wharf's fuel dock is out of commission so we have to make sure we have enough fuel aboard to make it safely to another fuel dock down river.  Let's hope this is the last time we'll have to go through this.

Then it began to rain and we went into the cabin and, after blowing the cocktail horn at 5 PM, watched while Frances heated up her baked stuffed potatoes and Bill's fantastic new meatloaf.  Pooka was happy to watch and dinner was delicious.

When we are in Norwich, I (Bill) like to take a walk on Sunday mornings and this weekend, despite the cold, gray weather, I headed over to what at one time was Norwich's main shopping area.  The Woolworths 5 &10 and the movie theater are still there, although now re-purposed as sites for social service agencies. Most of the shopping has shifted away from the old center city but there is still interesting architecture and if you look carefully, a hint of what this area must have been like 50 years ago.

The only life early on Sunday morning is the Dunkin Donuts where, I have to say, the coffee cake muffin is tasty fortification for a good long walk.

There are lots of vacant buildings but many of them aren't in bad shape and some have been rehabilitated into apartments for the growing oriental population, which has migrated to the area to work in the nearby casinos.

Round the corner and you encounter the Central Baptist Church, a massive building in brick with some brownstone foundations that must have been expanded several times as the congregation grew. The architecture is quite a combination of styles and I keep promising myself that some day, I'll stop in and ask about it.

Just to the right is an architectural gem, Norwich City Hall. The city fathers have done everything possible to maintain this building without altering its original Italianate detail.  The inside is just as impressive with lots of dark wood and huge windows.  It's no wonder that people who love old buildings come from all over to see it. Yep, even the clock works.

Note the angle of the street. It really is that steep. All of the neighborhoods in Norwich that surround the harbor are that steep or even steeper.

This Sunday, my walk included a look at a building that exhibits (in my opinion) some of the most unfortunate architecture ever foisted upon a New England seaport.  The Mercantile Exchange.

This is a view of this enormous building from its Main Street side. It is flanked by many charming, although vacant, buildings that go back to the mid-1800s when this truly was "Main Street."  From the harbor, this building appears even more offensive, simply overpowering everything around it.  Note the glass wall in the center. That alone should have added five years to the architect's prison sentence.

This pile was built by (I believe) by the State of Connecticut, perhaps five years ago. The building has been perfectly maintained but is now, and always has been, vacant.  Since I obviously don't have all the facts surrounding the Mercantile Exchange, I'll refrain from commenting any further.

On my way back to the marina, I passed the new Transportation Center, which is being built about as close possible to the nicely restored Thayer's Marine building.  Why they decided to put this erector-set building's entrance on a one-way street is beyond me.

Once back at the marina, I had to stop at what I'll call the "floating cottage," for lack of a better name.  This absolutely beautiful little building was built with exquisite detail by the marina's former owner. It's also empty and has always been so.  I think it's for sale although I've never asked what the asking price is. Note that it also has it's own dock box.

Finally, at the marina's inoperable gas dock, we come upon a boat that is the marine equivalent of the Mercantile Exchange.

This boat is probably about 100 ft. long and (again, in my opinion) exhibits many mistakes yacht designers make: A completely generic looking design with too many fussy windows, all the same size; an arch with unnecessary detail scribed into it supporting a huge satellite antenna that looks silly on a boat this size. We hope the energy from the two 6 ft. rotating radar antennas mounted on that weenie arch don't do a brain scan on those sitting up there just below them.

Topsides we have an open fly bridge (useful for seeing the bow of the boat, which is probably difficult from the wheel house) topped with a white fabric roof.  Then, just to make a bad design worse, a little shelter is built into the aft deck that is made of tan fabric held up by stainless supports that look like they came right out of the West Marine catalog.

Note the mandatory water toy that is docked in front. I kinda like the styling of that.

End of walk and end of my rant on why architects and boat designers should be watched very closely.