Brian's visit to Charlestown with his 8 yr old daughter 
inspired me to the same as ol p-nut is hitting that age
 where the allure of the Mall shimmers in the mind of a 7 yr 
old like pink icing on a barbie cake 
.My own interest in preservation was as a 7 yr old I visited 
Jamestown in 1957 which was its 250th (?) aniv
 my mother was a Drummond and her ancestor John 
was its first governor and there are a good many Drummonds around if you do 
the math because old John had 8 children .

None the less , Brian I found the best article written about Forts and the 
evolution of concrete in an APT bullentine from the 80's .
 Seems the british were pushing for concrete forts as early as 1862 
because they were cheaper and required less labor 
plus their tests of firing rifled shot into masonry walls proved they were 
better . Eddystone was the first case study 
and I will forward the report and its isbn#  to you 
as i conviently left the article in a work truck which has left
 for a job site in alabama . 
Regarding the battleships  if you know anything 
about how local ,city and state government works
when it comes to preservation (of anything ,especially rusting steel battle 
ship hulks) its always been ....and will continue to be.... one step forward 
and two steps back    "Py   


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