No work vests or hard hats, so I’d say this was an important event. Any guesses on the year? By the bridges in the background, I’d guess the location as Albany. The photo comes from the photo collections of the Canal society of New York.

Here’s a screenshot from page 516 of Merchant Vessels of the United States. She’s one of five launched from an unidentified shipyard in Kingston NY. Her dimensions are 62.4′ x 16.4′ x 7.7′. Based on that, the two above photos could be from her christening in 1922.

This appears to be in the Mohawk River portion of the Barge Canal. I’ve not found an image yet showing what barge(s) she’s towing.

The crew seems quite aware of the photographer, who might have been aboard a vessel.

I hope to see some of you at the Winter Symposium tomorrow.