Panama R.R. new docks. Front view of concrete mixing plant for caissons, Pier No. 7
September 2, 1915
A gelatin-silver photograph documenting a mobile concrete‑mixing plant mounted on railcars for pouring caissons at Pier No. 7, made to record the machinery and logistics of a large harbor construction project.
You first notice the machine-like choreography: corrugated shacks and boxcars on rails, a broad chute aiming toward the water, and a web of timber beams, ropes, and pulleys that give a close, gritty sense of scale and active construction.
The image exemplifies early 20th‑century industrial photography’s role in visualizing and legitimizing massive engineering works—making visible the mechanical ingenuity, organization, and labor that underpinned modern infrastructure projects like the Panama Railroad and Canal support facilities.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
7 1/16 × 9 1/2" (17.9 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
570.1971.174
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
