Acoustical curiosity: Fort Worden cistern

A curiosity that may be of interest to my fellow Pacific Northwesterners: there is an unused 2-million-gallon cistern at Fort Worden State Park that may have the longest reverberation time of any man-made space. RT60 is 45 seconds (!) (compare to the Taj Mahal at a mere 28 seconds). It's an acoustical looper! 

AND you can book it for recording for 100 bucks a day! Anybody want to split the check?

Apparently, it's somewhat famous, but I've lived here for 40 years and just heard about it.

http://centrum.org/dan-harpole-cistern-at-fort-worden-state-park/


Some videos shot in the cistern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ8MhEn-jm4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azOEekP4nRg


A sample library (Twisted Cistern) recorded there:
http://rekkerd.org/dark-side-of-the-tune-twisted-cistern-unique-sample-library/


A recounting of a session featuring 10 trombones 80 feet away from one another in the cistern. No audio was linked, unfortunately.
http://www.newalbion.com/NA076/


For more links, google "Dan Harpole cistern".

Bit,

Can't make it myself - well maybe this summer on a family vacation but I think my wife w/ nix that part of the trip.  But I'd be happy to throw in some money for impulses from same.

Anyone else?

@

bitflipper


A curiosity that may be of interest to my fellow Pacific Northwesterners: there is an unused 2-million-gallon cistern at Fort Worden State Park that may have the longest reverberation time of any man-made space. RT60 is 45 seconds (!) (compare to the Taj Mahal at a mere 28 seconds). It's an acoustical looper! 


Some videos shot in the cistern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ8MhEn-jm4
 

I don't understand the significance in the video of 8 minutes of people going up and down the ladder?

Beagle

bitflipper


A curiosity that may be of interest to my fellow Pacific Northwesterners: there is an unused 2-million-gallon cistern at Fort Worden State Park that may have the longest reverberation time of any man-made space. RT60 is 45 seconds (!) (compare to the Taj Mahal at a mere 28 seconds). It's an acoustical looper! 


Some videos shot in the cistern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ8MhEn-jm4
 

I don't understand the significance in the video of 8 minutes of people going up and down the ladder?

It sounds kinda similar to some of our grain silos around here actually...it is basically a huge reverb tank....love the impulses I get from our collection of silos....

trimph1

Beagle

bitflipper


A curiosity that may be of interest to my fellow Pacific Northwesterners: there is an unused 2-million-gallon cistern at Fort Worden State Park that may have the longest reverberation time of any man-made space. RT60 is 45 seconds (!) (compare to the Taj Mahal at a mere 28 seconds). It's an acoustical looper! 


Some videos shot in the cistern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ8MhEn-jm4

I don't understand the significance in the video of 8 minutes of people going up and down the ladder?

It sounds kinda similar to some of our grain silos around here actually...it is basically a huge reverb tank....love the impulses I get from our collection of silos....

I guess I didn't make my point clear.
 
the video linked above is some folks using the cistern.  the only thing being recorded for the first 8 minutes of that video (with the exception of one girl singing for about 20 seconds at ~5:30) was people going up and down the ladder with a few giggles and various short conversations....that I could tell.  maybe I missed it?  after 8 minutes they finally started recording some decent sounds and screams and moans and stuff that sounded really cool in that space.  but before 8 minutes in the video I don't get it.

mike_mccue


I liked the foot steps and the various random noises... they told me more about the nature of the space than the music did.

Maybe the person who uploaded the video had that sort of thing in mind.

best regards,
mike

ok - I can understand that.  but 8 minutes of it?  30 seconds of random noises would shirely be plenty, IMO.
 

Yeh, that first video seems to have been made when someone set up a camera on a tripod and let it roll. You have to jump about halfway through it to hear some singing.

Here's a video (audio's poor, though) of a concert held there. Because only 6 people at a time are allowed inside the cistern (no air for more) the audience listened up top through a PA.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHFQcQibKj0

Here's a page from Sean Costello's blog, which is how I found out about the cistern:
http://valhalladsp.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/ambient-reverb-no-electronics-required-the-dan-harpole-cistern-at-fort-worden/

(Sean is based in Seattle, if you didn't know.)

One of my first thoughts when hearing the cistern's reverb was "I bet I could get pretty close with VRoom".

Nice one Dave. I love it. I am into some big spaces and this is a ripper. Thought the Taj had the record there. Not sure what you can do with such a long reverb but very interesting none the less.

Not sure about the didge player though. I am afraid digde playing is something of a specialty of our native Aborigines.  They seem to get the most amazing sounds out of it.

I tried to synthesize a 45 second impulse response yesterday.

It didn't work out, and while it wasn't I figured out that a 45 second impulse may be greater than state of the art for real time playback. :-).

I can still dream though. :-)

Still, I imagine it would be an interesting impulse, even if shortened.  Dare I say "BIG."

@