SS ''Columbia'' is the last remaining excursion steamship from the turn of the 20th century in existence, the second to last being her running mate and sister ship
SS ''Ste. Claire'' which burned in 2018. Both were designed by
Frank E. Kirby and Louis O. Keil. ''Columbia'' was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1979, and was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1992.
As of 2019, the vessel is docked at Silo City in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
while work is being done to rehabilitate it.
History
''Columbia'' was built in
Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census.
Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the coll ...
, in 1902, and ''Ste. Claire'' was built in
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, in 1910. The naval architect Frank Kirby designed a new girder system for ''Columbia'' that allowed for the spans needed for a dance floor, thus ''Columbia'' was the first steamboat in the US with a proper ballroom. ''Columbia'' influenced the design of excursion steamers including ''Americana'', ''Canadiana'', ''Ste. Claire'', ''Put-in-bay'', ''Peter Stuyvesant'', and ''Catalina'' throughout the US. ''Columbia'' and ''Ste. Claire'' were originally joined by a third, SS ''Britannia'', built in 1906. During their heyday, ''Columbia'' and ''Ste. Claire'' sailed down the
Detroit River
The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...
from downtown
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
to
Bois Blanc Island, an
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
island that was home to an
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
built as a destination for the steamers. During the summer, the ship's triple decks would be filled with passengers enjoying the 90-minute, boat ride to the
Boblo Island Amusement Park
Boblo Island Amusement Park is an abandoned amusement park which operated from 1898 until its closure on September 30, 1993. Its amusement rides were sold in 1994.
The park was located on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario, just above the mouth of the ...
. Both ships featured music and dancing, an arcade, and a snack bar. The ships became icons on the Detroit River and were greatly loved by the people of Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
''Columbia'' became the setting for an historic Civil Rights battle in 1945 when a young African American woman named
Sarah Elizabeth Ray
Sarah Elizabeth Ray (also known as Lizz Haskell; 1921–2006) was an African American civil rights activist who in 1945 was denied entry on , a ferry operated by the Bob-Lo Excursion Company. She initiated a legal battle against the company via th ...
joined her classmates for a celebratory graduation cruise aboard the ship. Officers of the Boblo Excursion company then approached Ray and told her she had to leave due to her race. When they threatened her with physical removal, she agreed to leave but not before throwing the proffered fare refund back at them and getting their names. Ray enlisted the help of the NAACP in filing a complaint, and the State of Michigan charged the company with violating its civil rights law. The company claimed due to their routes crossing the Canada–US border that they were engaged in international commerce and were not subject to state regulations. Michigan won in the local courts and then in state court and ultimately in the US Supreme court.
Deterioration and restoration
Due to competition from nearby
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
, attendance at Boblo Island declined. In 1990, the company then operating Boblo Island said the steamers were too much to handle and were becoming a burden on the company's finances. The summer of 1991 was the last for ''Columbia'' and ''Ste. Claire'' and they were sold as a pair in the federal bankruptcy court in Minneapolis in November, 1991. In 1993, Boblo Island was closed and sold to real estate developers. The ships were docked outside the Great Lakes Steel Company in
Ecorse, Michigan
Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census.
Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...
, where they sat unprotected from the harsh Michigan winters. They were auctioned in foreclosure in 1996 and by 2000, both steamers were showing deterioration with chipped paint, rotting wood, and holes in the decks.
In 2004 a team led by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy had ''Columbia'' "shrink-wrapped" to reduce further deterioration while they considered purchase and restoration. However, in early 2006, given budgetary constraints they removed themselves from consideration. Later that year, with the assistance of National Trust for Historic Preservation ''Columbia'' was awarded to a New York-based non-profit group, "The S.S. Columbia Project", for restoration to active service as an educational, cultural, and Heritage tourism resource for use on the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
.
The plan for the ship's restoration and re-use was based on the European model of maritime preservation where the ship's restoration is funded through a non profit capital campaign and then the ship's operations are funded through earned revenues. Plans for the restored ship included daily excursions from the west side of Manhattan to the communities of the Hudson Valley.
Temporary alterations on both ships, ''Columbia'' and ''Ste. Clair'', was made for the 2014 feature film ''
Transformers: Age of Extinction''.
In September 2014, ''Columbia'' was towed from Detroit to Toledo, Ohio, for dry docking in preparation for moving to New York. In September 2015, she was moved to
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, where she is being prepared for an eventual move to the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
.
The video for the 2017 single "Score The Sky" by the UK band Lost Horizons was filmed at locations including the SS ''Columbia''.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
See also
*
Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park
*
Sarah Elizabeth Ray
Sarah Elizabeth Ray (also known as Lizz Haskell; 1921–2006) was an African American civil rights activist who in 1945 was denied entry on , a ferry operated by the Bob-Lo Excursion Company. She initiated a legal battle against the company via th ...
References
External links
Historic footage of SS ''Columbia'' in 1921, bound for Boblo Island (begins at 2:10 on video)Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive: S.S. ''Columbia'' Of Bob-Lo Excursion Co., Bob-Lo Island Park Route, Ontario*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia
Steamships of the United States
National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)
Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, New York
1902 ships