WaaTeeKaa is Gone -- November 14, 2018

I returned to the office after working from home for a stretch.  The guy in the next cubicle asked me if I knew what had happened to the railroad car which housed the Bechtel Museum.  I looked out the window and saw the empty tracks.

The Bechtel Museum is usually housed in a railroad car in the plaza behind the company's headquarters. The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988.

WaaTeeKaa Shrouded in Mystery -- January 26, 2016

The Bechtel Museum is housed in a railroad car in the plaza behind the company's headquarters.   The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988.

On Juanuary 14, a  crew started to erect a tent over WaaTeeKaa.  We stood in the window of our office and speculated why they might be doing it.  I suggested that the roof of the wooden car could have developed a leak during our big storms, or they want to protect it from the upcoming Super Bowl festivities. 

Bechtel Plaza -- September 26, 2014

In 1978, the Bechtel Corporation celebrated its 80th anniversary by dedicating a plaza to Stephen D Bechtel, Senior, son of the company's found.  I took the photo of the plaque on 07-May-2014. 

The Bechtel Museum, is located in a railroad car in the plaza.   The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988. The exhibits are arranged along one side of the car, with partitions between the sections. The exhibits are mostly photos with captions describing the company's founding in 1898 and the many projects which it has handled, including Hoover Dam, the Bay Bridge, and BART. Each section contains a few objects, like old hard hats or models of pioneering motorized equipment.  I took the photo of WaaTeeKaa on 19-November-2011. 

Waateekaa Decorated for Christmas -- December 16, 2012

I took this photo of the Bechtel Family Museum decorated for Christmas on 28-November-2012.  The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988.

Bechtel Museum -- September 18, 2012

At lunchtime I went to the Bechtel Museum, a railroad car in the plaza behind the company's headquarters.   The Bechtel family lived in a railroad car, the WaaTeeKaa, at remote job sites in the 1920s. This car, originally from the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, was restored to externally resemble the WaaTeeKaa as a gift to Steve Bechtel, Senior and his wife Laura in 1988. The exhibits are arranged along one side of the car, with partitions between the sections. The exhibits are mostly photos with captions describing the company's founding in 1898 and the many projects which it has handled, including Hoover Dam, the Bay Bridge, and BART. Each section contains a few objects, like old hard hats or models of pioneering motorized equipment.

A guard sat at the end of the car, by the observation platform.  I asked him if the museum got many visitors.  He said some days there were none, other days there were many.  I saw five other people as I left.

This is one of the few museums I have visited that does not have a donation box.

I took the photo of WaaTeeKaa on 19-November-2011.