Balboa Terminals. Dry Dock #1 and Entrance Pier. Incline Trestle removed from Dry Dock. Concrete Pontoons under construction on floor of Dry Dock. Well drills working on Cofferdam
February 3, 1916
This gelatin silver photograph records the construction of Dry Dock No. 1 at Balboa Terminals, made to document the industrial process and scale of early‑20th‑century maritime engineering.
The view arrests you with a sweeping diagonal of massive concrete and repeating shed roofs leading to calm water and distant hills, underlining the overwhelming scale and exactness of human construction against the natural landscape.
The image documents a pivotal moment in modern engineering and global trade—showing the construction techniques (cofferdams, concrete pontoons, dry dock) that made large‑scale naval and commercial shipping possible in the Panama Canal Zone.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
7 × 9 1/2" (17.8 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
570.1971.50
Palette
Exhibitions
