LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Isambard Kingdom Brunel: New York
built 654 days ago
Brunel can be said to have originated a new regional craft and one highly suited to the men of western England with their long maritime tradition. Highly skilled bridge gangs examined each viaduct four times a year and when repairs or replacements were necessary they would lower themselves from the decks in bowline loops, swinging dizzily, perhaps one hundred feet or more above the ground. Vaughan counterbalances this with: These Cornish viaducts were fine structures but Isambard would not have agreed with the unreserved praise heaped upon them by some writers, including Rolt. KPJ: it should be noted that simple structures enabled the West to be opened up whether in Britain, or in the USA..
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Brunel was believed to have been born in No. 1 Britain Street, which was close to the site of the original plaque. This area of Portsea had been heavily damaged in the war and in the late 40's and early 50's the City Council began developing it for new housing. By the time they were made aware that they proposed demolishing Brunel's birthplace it was too late to save it.
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Further afield, along the Newton Road is the original Torre Pumping Station which was put in place as part of Brunel's doomed Atmospheric Railway project. The system was being tested on the Exeter to Newton Abbot line ... it was so beset by problems that the scheme was abandoned. He had intended for the system to be employed in the Newton to Torre (Torquay) line however due to its failure this never happened and the pumping station was never used. The Italianate style limestone building with its distinctive campanile chimney is one of the few examples that exist today.
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There are two memorial plaques to Brunel. The original is still at the junction of Britain Street and St Georges Way, Portsea, whilst a new version is in the middle of St George's Square, Portsea, adjacent to The Hard and Ordnance Road.
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On 8 April 2006, Bristol celebrated Brunel's 200th birthday with a series of festivities. These included a concert of brass bands, an epic saxophone ensemble, a choral piece and a fireworks display over the Avon Gorge culminating in the switching on of new lighting for the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
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