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Peter Knego Blogs from Lake Michigan
SS MILWAUKEE CLIPPER
Built in 1905 at the American Shipbuilding Company, Cleveland, Ohio for Anchor Line
361 by 45 feet
4333 gt (as built)
350 passengers
3500 tons of cargo
Powered by four cylindrical Scotch boilers providing steam to a quadruple expansion engine
2500 shp
18 knots
Transferred to Great Lakes Transit Corporation in 1915
Laid up in 1936
Completely rebuilt at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in 1940 as MILWAUKEE CLIPPER
4272 gt
Muskegon to Milwaukee cross lake service from 1941 to 1970
1970 -- 1977 Laid up at Muskegon, Michigan
1977 Towed to the Bay Shipbuilding Company of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for dry-docking and machinery work
1977 Moved to Navy Pier, Chicago Renamed CLIPPER
December, 1983 she was listed on the National Register of Historic Sites
May, 1989 she was designated a National Historic Landmark
1990 Moved to Hammond, Indiana
1996 Moved to South Chicago, Illinois
1997 Sold for $1 to Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Association and towed to Muskegon where she has been undergoing restoration ever since
Top, the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER at her new home of Muskegon, Michigan. Photo and copyright Peter Knego. Bottom, the same ship in her Great Lakes Transportation Company days as the JUNIATA. Peter Knego collection.
Liners On The Lake by Peter Knego
Thursday, July 13, Scott Davis arranged through his friend, John Songer, a short boat ride into Lake Muskegon to photograph the 1905-built SS MILWAUKEE CLIPPER, which is now berthed as a museum and attraction in the heart of the waterfront city that used to be her eastern terminus on daily Lake Michigan crossings to Milwaukee and back. The MILWAUKEE CLIPPER was originally the Great Lakes cruise ship JUNIATA and was completely rebuilt in 1940 by the streamline master architect, George Sharp. Many of her modern features would be utilized in his later ships, including the DEL NORTE trio, the AQUARAMA, and the SAVANNAH. After a long term of layup from 1970 through 1997, the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER was towed from a gloomy coal pier in South Chicago to Muskegon where a team of dedicated volunteers has been gradually restoring her. The vessel juts out considerably from her dock, so the only way to get a good bow view is from a boat's vantage.
John's 34 foot SeaRay took us from Muskegon's sheltered marina into the lake and in an arc around the ship, whose starboard side was brilliantly lit by the late morning sun. She has been carefully repainted in her original gray and white colors, save for a small portion of her stern, which still sports the turquoise and coral color scheme she wore in her last active stationary role at Hammond, Indiana.
The riveted 100 year old port side bow of the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER on a bright July afternoon. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The Main Lounge, facing forward. Note the array of wonderful chrome Art Deco furnishings. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The starboard decking still has its original signage, although the identical motif on the port side was damaged from exposure and ultimately removed. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Another original tile motif depicts the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER in her heyday. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
An original mural of the Great Lakes and the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER still presides over the grand staircase. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The MILWAUKEE CLIPPER had two long galleries of Pullman-style accommodation just aft of her forward Lounge. This is an aft-facing view on the starboard side. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The wonderful shape and sheer of the Forward Lounge, shown facing port, is a perfect setting for the ship's Warren and McArthur furnishings. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
We drove to the ship, only to find it closed (regular guided tours are offered Friday through Sunday from 2:00 to 7:00 PM). I took a few shots from the dock and ran into one of the volunteers, who offered to take us on board. Since my last visit in 2003, many more improvements have been made, including the return of much of her Warren and McArthur designed chrome deco furnishings to the various public rooms.
One of several cabins awaiting restoration. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
With a little TLC and paint, voila! A beautifully restored, authentic cabin. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Volunteers in the cinema. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Original murals were recently uncovered in the children's area adjoining the cinema. Efforts are being made to restore them and, at the same time, document the more recent murals, which date from the latter part of MILWAUKEE CLIPPER's Muskegon to Milwaukee career. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Although the wheelhouse structure dates from 1940, one of the telegraphs dates from 1905. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Aside from new paint schemes, the Cocktail Lounge has changed little over the years. It is told that Liberace played the piano here, long before his foray into Hollywood history. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The Sports and Games Deck, which is located just aft of the Cocktail Lounge, is being repainted. This view is facing forward toward the streamline dummy funnel, a typical George Sharp architectural trademark. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
The MILWAUKEE CLIPPER still has her 1905-built quadruple expansion engines. It is hoped that one day they can be fully restored. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
Several cabins have also been painted and restored and the upper decks and superstructure have been given a new coat of paint. We went to the children's playroom where, underneath the last layer of paint (most likely dating from the 1960s), some original paintings of classic cartoon characters were being uncovered. Discovered by accident, five of these have thus far been carefully exposed.
SS KEEWATIN
Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding, Govan, Scotland in 1907 for Canadian Pacific Railway
350 by 43.5 feet
3,856 gt
228 passengers
86 crew
coal-fired Scotch boilers to drive quadruple expansion engines producing 3,300 shp
14 knot service speed (16 maximum)
Cut in two sections for passage through the Welland Canal
"Reunited" at Buffalo, New York
Maiden Voyage Owen Sound -- Lake Superior service October 7, 1908
1912 New Homeport of Port McNicoll, Ontario
Withdrawn from service on 29 November 1965 and sold for scrap
Rescued and brought to Douglas, Michigan on 27 June 1967
Open for tours every summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day, check the Keewatin Maritime Museum
The KEEWATIN in a famous CP post card view toward the end of her active career. Peter Knego collection.
Our time on the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER was brief in order to allow us a quick visit to KEEWATIN that afternoon. It is a scenic forty five minute drive from Muskegon down Michigan's west coast to Saugatuck/Douglas, where the magnificent former Canadian Pacific liner KEEWATIN rests in permanent retirement. She dominates the harbor of the Cape Code-like resort town, her towering buff funnel and brilliant white superstructure is visible for miles.
I have been on board KEEWATIN three times now and am happy to report she looks better than ever. The world owes a great debt to her owners, RJ and Diane Petersen, for single-handedly saving the KEEWATIN from the scrappers and bringing her to her new home. The old liner is well looked after by Bob and Cindy Zimmerman, who have kept her in amazingly good condition in spite of the onset of time and extreme weather conditions.
The KEEWATIN as seen from an adjacent pier. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.
I was not able to photograph her public spaces on this visit, but any vintage ship enthusiast with a penchant for Edwardian liners is hugely encouraged to visit the KEEWATIN! In so many respects, save for having only one funnel, she is a miniature version of the great turn of the (last) century liners MAURETANIA and LUSITANIA.
A perfect ship on a perfect day. The KEEWATIN as seen from the Harbor Duck amphibious craft. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.Ê
We ended our day by taking the amphibious Harbor Duck tour, which enters the Kalamazoo River adjacent to the KEEWATIN, passes along her stern and into the basin. In the late afternoon, the sun shines brilliantly on her starboard flanks. The only thing missing is a plume of coal smoke from her funnel and the wash of her huge single screw in the otherwise still water.
END
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