The SS Christopher Columbus was an American excursion liner on the Great Lakes, in service between 1893 and 1933. She was the only whaleback ship ever built for passenger service. Initially, she ferried passengers to and from the World’s Columbian Exposition. Later, she provided general transportation and excursion services to various ports around the lakes.
About SS Christopher Columbus in brief
The SS Christopher Columbus was an American excursion liner on the Great Lakes, in service between 1893 and 1933. She was the only whaleback ship ever built for passenger service. The ship was designed by Alexander McDougall, the developer and promoter of the whaleback design. Initially, she ferried passengers to and from the World’s Columbian Exposition. Later, she provided general transportation and excursion services to various ports around the lakes. After a career lasting four decades, she was retired during the Great Depression and scrapped in 1936 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at ManitowOC, Wisconsin. At 362 feet, the ship was the longest whaleback ever built, and reportedly also the largest vessel on theGreat Lakes when she was launched. Columbus is said to have carried more passengers during her career than any other vessel onthe Great Lakes. Her grand saloon and promenade contained several fountains and a large aquarium filled with trout. The public cabins were fitted out with oak paneling, velvet carpins, etched glass windows, leather furniture and marble.
Shops and restaurants were provided for the passengers. Electric lighting was used, and she was elegantly furnished with skylighted skylights and skylit windows. The Columbus was built between 1892 and 1893 at Superior, Wisconsin, by the American Steel Barge Company. The World’s Fair Steamship Company ordered the construction of the Columbus at an estimated cost of USD 360,000. The name honored the explorer Christopher Columbus and the Exposition itself, timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of his first voyage to the New World. In 1892, the Columbus was intended to demonstrate that the whale back design would work well in passenger service, and would be able to travel at high speed. It was built in three months, making her one of the fastest-built ships of her time. The vessel would embark five,000 passengers in five months and deliver five unloading and unloading ships in three days, making it one of her fastest ships of all time. She had six steel tubular return Scotch boilers, diameter by 12-foot long, built by Cleveland Shipbuilding Co.
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This page is based on the article SS Christopher Columbus published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
