Peter's
Nostalgia Site
Interests
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Peter's
Nostalgia Site Interests
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The Great Depression brought considerable misery but also some amazing statements of optimism for a bright future.
Just a fleeting piece of optimism, The Tower of Empire, part of the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. This over-egged illustration doesn't really do justice to Thomas Tait's exciting design. |
Completed
in 1933, the Empire State Building was built in just fourteen
months but remained
half empty (sorry half full) throughout most of the depression. It was
known as the Empty
State Building and only achieved fully let status after the
war. None the less a
truly enduring symbol of optimism.
A
Government funded venture, the R101 competed directly with the private
venture R100 and
foundered on her maiden flight due to project mismanagement resulting
in the complete
termination of British airship development.
By far the most sophisticated and elegant of the
transatlantic liners
from the 30s, the
Normandie met her unfortunate end whilst impounded in New York harbour.
Fire took hold of
her when being converted into a troop ship during the WW2. She
overturned and sank due to
the weight of water pumped in to extinguish the fire.