Milwaukee Clipper (Milwaukee clipper, originally Juanita , Juanita) - a steamboat - a passenger liner and a car ferry operating on the Great Lakes . Currently a museum ship in ( Michigan ). The vessel is included in the US National Register of Historic Places and has the status of a US National Historic Site .
| Milwaukee clipper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Flag |  USA |
| Class and type of vessel | Ferry |
| IMO Number | 5235375 |
| Operator | Anchor line The Great Lakes Transit Corporation Wisconsin and Michigan Steamship Company |
| Manufacturer | American shipbuilding company  USA |
| Launched | 1905 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | 1970 |
| Status | Ship museum |
| Main characteristics | |
| Length | 110 m |
| Width | 14 m |
| Draft | 8.5 m |
| Main characteristics | |
| Engines | fourfold steam engine |
| Mover | one propeller |
| Speed | 18 knots |
| Passenger capacity | 900 passengers 100 cars |
History
The ship, originally called Juanita, was built in 1905 in Cleveland by the American Shipbuilding Company for the Anchor Line, owned by Pennsylvania Railroad . Juanita worked on the Buffalo - Duluth line . In 1916, the Anchor Line shipping company was liquidated due to the fact that the Interstate Commerce Commission banned the operation of ships by railway companies. The new owner and operator of the vessel was The Great Lakes Transit Corporation (Great Lakes Transport Corporation). The new owner continued to operate the vessel on the same line, with the exception of the seasons of 1933 and 1934, when Juanita made voyages to Chicago in connection with the World Exhibition.
In 1937, the ship was decommissioned due to the fact that its wooden superstructures were recognized as fire hazard and did not comply with the new safety rules.
A few years later, the ship bought the shipping company Wisconsin and Michigan Steamship Company. By order of the new owner, a major modernization of the vessel was carried out. The ship was equipped to carry nine hundred passengers and one hundred cars. For the comfort of passengers on board were equipped with halls for dancing and sports, a cinema hall, a children's playroom. The cabins were equipped with air conditioning. Modernization work was carried out in 1940-1941 at the factory Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. On June 2, 1941, the modernized ship arrived in Milwaukee, where on the same day the ceremony of renaming it as Milwaukee Clipper took place. After that, it began to be used on the Milwaukee -Muskegon line.
In 1970, the ship was decommissioned. In 1977, it was acquired by an entrepreneur from Chicago, who planned to use the ship as a floating restaurant and congress center. However, this business project was unsuccessful. Over the next twenty years, Milwaukee Clipper changed several owners and parking spots. Finally, it was bought by the Great Lakes Clipper Preservation organization (later renamed SS Milwaukee Clipper) from Muskegon. The aim of the organization was the restoration and transformation of the ship from the museum. On December 2, 1997, Milwaukee Clipper arrived in Muskegon.
Sources
Elizabeth B Sherman. Beyond the Windswept Dunes: the Story of maritime Muskegon. - Wayne State University Press, 2003 .-- S. 101-104. - ISBN 9780814331279 .