Wes Modes
Passing tow Mister Jim on Newtown Creek
Passing tow Mister Jim on Newtown Creek #Shantyboat #tugboat #Barges…
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Like a lot of NYC waterways, Newtown Creek is cleaner than it has been in the last 150 years, but dirtier than it should be
Like a lot of NYC waterways, Newtown Creek is cleaner…
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The Thing in Greenpoint Brooklyn where literally millions of unsorted records await you
The Thing in Greenpoint Brooklyn where literally millions of unsorted…
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The Hess Triangle
The Hess Triangle. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hess_triangle
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Josephine, Bella and Eric in the West Village who used to live in California and have traveled everywhere
Josephine, Bella and Eric in the West Village who used…
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Crif Dogs in the East Village where if you give the right password on the telephone in the booth, you slide into a hidden speakeasy
Crif Dogs in the East Village where if you give…
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Melvins Juice Box / Rum Bar – detox / retox
Melvins Juice Box / Rum Bar – detox / retox…
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Stefania is holding down the bar at The Library
Stefania is holding down the bar at The Library, a…
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Seeing all the sights
Seeing all the sights #soho #lowereastside #eastvillage #manhattan #nyc
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Entrance to the 1920s speakeasy the Back Room on the lower Eastside
Entrance to the 1920s speakeasy the Back Room on the…
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Taking a second look at the WhiteBox exhibition
Taking a second look at the WhiteBox exhibition #shantyboat #artshow…
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@gooddoghazel is gonna own this city
@gooddoghazel is gonna own this city #shantyboat #dogsofnewyork #cattledogsofnewyork
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Jackson’s Deli in Long Island City, Queens and the 7 Train
Jackson’s Deli in Long Island City, Queens and the 7…
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Talking to Jeanette in LIC, Queens about everything…
Talking to Jeanette in LIC, Queens about everything including colloquial…
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Want to check out the Secret History shantyboat? We will be showing it at the North Brooklyn Boat Club
Want to check out the Secret History shantyboat? We will…
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Join us tonight for a Secret History lecture and Q&A at the historic Sunview Luncheonette
Hey friends, come join us tonight July 29th for a…
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Shantyboat under the Pulaski Bridge. Empire State off the bow
Shantyboat under the Pulaski Bridge. Empire State off the bow.…
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Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn dive bar on the outside, dearly loved tavern inside
Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn dive bar on the…
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Benzy’s new 79 Leigh Valley tattoo
Benzy’s new 79 Leigh Valley tattoo #shantyboat #waterfrontmuseum #sailorcostume #anchorshirt
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Join us at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook, Brooklyn…
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Welcome to Brooklyn
Welcome to Brooklyn #secrethistory #underpassgasfire #artists
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Secret History exhibition at Waterfront Museum in Red Hook Brooklyn
Secret History exhibition at Waterfront Museum in Red Hook Brooklyn.…
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Geraniums on the stern of the Waterfront Museum barge
Geraniums on the stern of the Waterfront Museum barge #shantyboat…
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Playing with mini George Rhodes kinetic sculpture at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Playing with mini George Rhodes kinetic sculpture at the Waterfront…
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Secret History opening last night in Manhattan: five years of photographs on silk organza forming a multilayer and nonlinear narrative of the stories of river people
Secret History opening last night in Manhattan: five years of…
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Shantyboat upon waking under the Pulaski Bridge
Shantyboat upon waking under the Pulaski Bridge #shantyboat #nblknd #nyc…
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Show prep
Show prep #shantyboat #ArtShow #NYC
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Hanging the show at WhiteBox. Five years of Secret History photographs, video, interviews, and artifacts
Hanging the show at WhiteBox. Five years of Secret History…
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OMFG New York
OMFG New York #shantyboat #toomuch #nyc
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Hazel asleep with her dolphin
Hazel asleep with her dolphin. #shantyboat @gooddoghazel #cattledogsofinstagram
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Yolonda traces the path of the Mississippi River for the Secret History exhibition at WhiteBox tomorrow
Yolonda traces the path of the Mississippi River for the…
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One of the weirder tasks I’ve done this week, rolling a 16 ft boat through the streets of Manhattan
One of the weirder tasks I’ve done this week, rolling…
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Living in NYC is a hairy business. Shipmate shearing
Living in NYC is a hairy business. Shipmate shearing. #diyhaircut…
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Talk about adaptive ingenuity among river people: North Brooklyn Boat Club
Talk about adaptive ingenuity among river people. At the North…
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Just sitting on our back deck drinking my morning coffee…
Just sitting on our back deck drinking my morning coffee…
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My first major NYC show featuring five years of secret…
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As we are enjoying a nightcap, a party boat comes up Newtown Creek with what appears to be a boatload of Hasidim dancing to a Klezmer band
As we are enjoying a nightcap, a party boat comes…
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Best welcome ever at the North Brooklyn Boat Club
Best welcome ever at the North Brooklyn Boat Club. Felt…
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An unprecidented view out the shantyboat backdoor
An unprecidented view out the shantyboat backdoor. #shantyboat #nyc #manhattan…
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Queensboro Bridge across Roosevelt Island with the little shantyboat on the East River heading toward Brooklyn
Queensboro Bridge across Roosevelt Island with the little shantyboat on…
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Will I ever get tired of New York cityscapes across the water? Not bloody likely
Will I ever get tired of New York cityscapes across…
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Benzy skippering on the East River
Benzy skippering on the East River #shantyboat #eastriver #nyc
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The city from the Harlem River
The city from the Harlem River #shantyboat #harlemriver #nyc
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Big sky over and big waves around Manhattan on the Harlem River. An inopportune wind blows north
Big sky over and big waves around Manhattan on the…
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Here what I know about the Bronx: Don DeLillo’s Underworld, Bronx accents, and this photo. We’re between Manhattan and the Bronx
Here what I know about the Bronx: Don DeLillo’s Underworld,…
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We enter the Harlem River!
We enter the Harlem River! #shantyboat #harlemriver #bronx
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We are going to be entering fucking New York City in a fucking Shantyboat. Pardon my language and my excitement
We are going to be entering fucking New York City…
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Re-launching under the George Washington Bridge on the Hudson river on a pretty choppy day
Re-launching under the George Washington Bridge on the Hudson river…
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Accidentally passed by the childhood home my favorite early 20th Century realist painters, Edward Hopper
Accidentally passed by the childhood home my favorite early 20th…
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Triptych: How to trailer a shanty boat in a strong crosswind on a homemade boat trailer
Triptych: How to trailer a shanty boat in a strong…
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This brick found by Ginny Norfleet in her yard turned out to be the cornerstone of what was the first African church in the county
This brick found by Ginny Norfleet in her yard turned…
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Docknic in a storm
Docknic in a storm. When you get tired of the…
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Weighing our options: take out now or keep going down the Hudson to New York?
Weighing our options: take out now or keep going down…
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Riverport Sailing School creating baby sailors.
Riverport Sailing School creating baby sailors. #shantyboat #babysailors #rondoutcreek #hudsonriver
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Maritime hitchhiking: Matt and Leanne offer us a ride in their fancy boat back to safety
Maritime hitchhiking: We took the johnboat down into town for…
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Rockland/Westchester Journal: A shanty in Haverstraw: A floating art project explores the lives and history of ‘river people’
Rockland/Westchester Journal by Rochel Leah Goldblatt HAVERSTRAW – Wes Modes stood…
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Haverstraw and Ossining are the widest point on the Hudson River. Because of the long reaches winds can whip up fierce waves. It is debatable whether we should even be out on a day like today
Haverstraw and Ossining are the widest point on the Hudson…
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The bricks that built New York City, made Haverstraw wealthy and nearly spelled its doom
The bricks that built New York City, made Haverstraw wealthy…
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In the Haverstraw brickyards African and Italian workers lived and worked side by side…
In the Haverstraw brickyards African and Italian workers lived and…
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“I am a proponent of highly walkable, human scale places in America.”
“I am a proponent of highly walkable, human scale places…
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The charming curator, staff and artists of WhiteBox came to visit the shantyboat in Haverstraw
The charming curator, staff and artists of WhiteBox came to…
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The first time our bilge pumps have ever needed to be used. Docked in Haverstraw, water was coming over our stern
The first time our bilge pumps have ever needed to…
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Rockin and rollin during our Haverstraw pop-up
Rockin and rollin during our Haverstraw pop-up. #shantyboat #roughweather
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“Uncle Susan is a Wolf.” We’ve seen this tag all over and found it in our ship’s log. Who is it?
“Uncle Susan is a Wolf.” We’ve seen this tag all…
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It was an interesting day on the water. Waves, wind, and spray
It was an interesting day on the water. Waves, wind,…
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Goodbye, sweet friend. You were a good bumper for the last five years. If anyone has a small tire we can use to replace the one now at the bottom of the river and is near Haverstraw…
Goodbye, sweet friend. You were a good bumper for the…
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The amazingly bumpin’ streets of Haverstraw, a magical land where white, black, and brown people bustle around downtown
The amazingly bumpin’ streets of Haverstraw, a magical land where…
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The Elks come ready to talk it out face-to-face
Misunderstanding resolved: The Elks come ready to talk it out…
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Interview with Ginny Norfleet. We talked about the invisible stories of 400 years of African-American history in Haverstraw NY
Interview with Ginny Norfleet. We talked about the invisible stories…
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This is us docked in Haverstraw moments before a member of the Elks Lodge kicked us off their docks
This is us docked in Haverstraw moments before the all…
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Indian Point Energy Center is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York
Indian Point Energy Center is a three-unit nuclear power plant…
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The Hudson river highlands are incredibly beautiful. Old rounded granite reminds me of the sierra Nevada mountains. #shantyboat
The Hudson river highlands are incredibly beautiful. Old rounded granite…
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U.S.Army FB-814 gives tours out of West Point. Today they got a special tour feature. #shantyboat #tourboat #westpoint
U.S.Army FB-814 gives tours out of West Point. Today they…
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Mystery train bridge near World’s End. What is it bridging? #shantyboat #mysterytrain
Mystery train bridge near World’s End. What is it bridging?…
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John Chamberlain sculptures at Dia:Beacon. He referred to these as Gondolas
John Chamberlain sculptures at Dia:Beacon. He referred to these as…
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Poughkeepsie bridges at sunset. #shantyboat
Poughkeepsie bridges at sunset. #shantyboat
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We drew a sizable crowd on the Poughkeepsie pedestrian bridge. #shantyboat
We drew a sizable crowd on the Poughkeepsie pedestrian bridge.…
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This looks like nothing, but when you’re in a boat with 10 inches of freeboard and you have a 10 mph following wind and associated waves against a strong upstream tidal current, it is decently terrifying. #shantyboat #LittleBigWaves
This looks like nothing, but when you’re in a boat…
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@gooddoghazel and I wait for the laundry #shantyboat
@gooddoghazel and I wait for the laundry #shantyboat
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Boats work both ways, keeping water out AND keeping water in, particularly during northeast torrential summer rains #shantyboat #bailing
Boats work both ways, keeping water out AND keeping water…
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Looks like rain destroyed our canopy (and our bamboo poles) while we were in the city. #shantyboat #theWeatherStrikesBack
Looks like rain destroyed our canopy (and our bamboo poles)…
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NYC Chinatown feels very welcoming and very Blade Runner. #shantyboat #nyc #chinatown
NYC Chinatown feels very welcoming and very Blade Runner. #shantyboat…
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Assembling the pier at WhiteBox. #artshow #exhibition #secrethistory
Assembling the pier at WhiteBox. #artshow #exhibition #secrethistory
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Staging the exhibition. #shantyboat #artshow
Staging the exhibition. #shantyboat #artshow
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Secret History sweatshop. Prepping for setting up the @whiteboxny exhibition tomorrow #shantyboat #artshow #exhibition
Secret History sweatshop. Prepping for setting up the @whiteboxny exhibition…
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Back up in Whitehall, drop in to visit our favorite laundromat so far. #shantyboat #laudromat
Back up in Whitehall, drop in to visit our favorite…
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Amtrak Empire Service through upstate New York. #shantyboat #amtrak #upstate
Amtrak Empire Service through upstate New York. #shantyboat #amtrak #upstate
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Next phase of our shantyboat journey: Amtrak north to get the truck. #shantyboat #amtrak #crazytrain
Next phase of our shantyboat journey: Amtrak north to get…
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The western half of the historic Rondout district along Rondout Creek in Kingston. The entire largely black neighborhood east of Broadway was bulldozed as part of “urban renewal“ in the 1960s. #shantyboat #urbanrenewal #lostneighborhood #invisiblestories
The western half of the historic Rondout district along Rondout…
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Current exhibits in the Jeremiah Daniels Executive Washroom Gallery aboard the shantyboat. #shantyboat #artgallery
Current exhibits in the Jeremiah Daniels Executive Washroom Gallery aboard…
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Though part of the American landscape since at least the 19th century, with the exception of a handful of memoirs and pulp fiction, there is very little written about shantyboat communities. #shantyboat #pulpfiction
Though part of the American landscape since at least the…
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Leo Bower generously shared photos he’s collected of the early days of the Hudson waterfront
Leo Bower generously shared photos he’s collected of the early…
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Stilllife with shantyboat #shantyboat #stilllife
Stilllife with shantyboat #shantyboat #stilllife
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The jonboat looks like a swimming pool after last night’s torrential downfall #shantyboat #heavyrain #rain
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Interview with Mary Liz and Paul Stewart about the Underground Railroad History Project they co-instigate
Interview with Mary Liz and Paul Stewart about the Underground…
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The Daily Freeman: Shanty boat crew, docking in Kingston, gathers disappearing history of nation’s river people
The Daily Freeman by William J. Kemble KINGSTON, N.Y. >>…
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In the Riverport Wooden Boat School (part of the Hudson River Maritime Museum) people are building big and little boats
In the Riverport Wooden Boat School (part of the Hudson…
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Benzy’s photo of the Hudson Lighthouse as we were returning too late and too dark across the river from Athens
Benzy’s photo of the Hudson Lighthouse as we were returning…
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We mist have arrived at Rondout Creek in Kingston because here is the beautiful Clearwater Sloop
We mist have arrived at Rondout Creek in Kingston because…
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Interview with Leo Bower. We talked about the town of Hudson, the Fugary shantytown and the characters who lived there
Interview with Leo Bower. We talked about the town of…
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