Posted on 12/02/2011 7:26:34 PM PST by thecodont
When most people ponder the past at the Transbay Terminal construction site, they imagine the hustle and bustle of gray-suited commuters swarming in and out of the Art Deco-style train depot in the mid-20th century.
But archaeologists working at the site during demolition of the dingy old terminal last winter and construction of its grand replacement have unearthed artifacts that help reveal what it must have been like to live in the Irish working-class neighborhood that existed in that part of the South of Market in the mid- to late 1800s.
They've dug up bottles that once held soda, booze and medical remedies, ceramic doll heads, iron toilets, dishes and toothbrushes. There are also iron cogs from foundries and factories, the rudder of a ship, a dog collar - even a small gold nugget that was melted down, probably during the Gold Rush.
The artifacts will go on display beginning today in the lobby of 201 Mission St., a high-rise at the south end of the construction site that houses the headquarters for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the agency building the $4.2 billion transit terminal expected to open in 2017. The museum-like exhibition of about 70 small items - and not including the gold - will be available for public viewing during business hours through February, giving the public a chance to glimpse into life in the 1870s.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/01/BAKN1M6HPG.DTL#ixzz1fRDBmu91
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Transbay_Terminal
was closed July 2010 and razed to make way for a new terminal.
During the dig, cool things are being found.
Ping.
Near term archeaology.
Wonder how they were able to determine the proof of the alcohol that a bottle of whatever it contained had?
During the “Big Dig” in Boston, they came across the remains of an outhouse. Cost the taxpayers over $4M while the archaeologists dug through the old night soil for broken pottery and other broken and discarded items down the “hole” at the time.
Great video here: http://transbaycenter.org/
$4.2 BILLION. I can't believe it -- the brokest state in the entire nation has found a way to build this thing.
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