Milwaukee Clipper

Career
Name:	S.S. Milwaukee Clipper
Owner:	SS Milwaukee Clipper Preservation, Inc.
Route:	Muskegon to Milwaukee
Builder:	Manitowoc Ship Building Company
Maiden voyage:	As rebuilt, 3 June 1941
Fate:	Museum Ship
Status:	Docked in Muskegon, Michigan
General characteristics
Length:	361 ft (110 m)
Beam:	45 ft (14 m)
Installed power:	Quadruple Expansion Steam
Propulsion:	Single Screw

The SS Milwaukee Clipper, also known as SS Clipper , and formerly as the SS Juniata, is a retired passenger ship and automobile ferry that sailed under two configurations and traveled on all of the Great Lakes except Lake Ontario. The Clipper is the only US passenger steamship left on the Great Lakes.^[3] The vessel is now docked in Muskegon, Michigan.

As the Juniata

Her story begins on December 22, 1904, in Cleveland, Ohio, at the shipyards of the American Shipbuilding Company. Christened the Juniata when launched, she was built for the Anchor Line, the Great Lakes marine division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Her sister ships are the SS Tionesta and SS Octorara.

The ship is 361 feet in length, 45 feet in beam, a depth of 22 feet, with a gross tonnage of 4333 tons. It carried 350 passengers in staterooms at 18 knots. As originally built, it had a riveted steel hull and a magnificent wooden superstructure. For the Pennsylvania Railroad, she carried passengers and freight between Buffalo, New York and Duluth, Minnesota until 1915.

That year, the anti-monopoly Panama Canal Act, which forbade railroads from owning steamships, went into effect. Divesting its marine divisions, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold its Anchor Line along with four other railroad-owned company fleets, to the newly formed Great Lakes Transit Corporation. Under this flag, she carried passengers along her old routes ^[4] for another 20 seasons. The Juniata was laid up in 1937 after the closing of the Chicago World's Fair.

As the Milwaukee Clipper

The Juniata sat idle in Buffalo until being sold in 1940 to be rebuilt and used as a passenger ship on Lake Michigan. The Juniata was extensively modernized at the yard of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. She had her boilers upgraded from coal to run on fuel oil, but retained her original quadruple expansion steam engine. The old cabins and wooden superstructure were removed and replaced with steel to meet the new maritime fire safety standards created after the disastrous SS Morro Castle fire off Asbury Park, New Jersey in 1934. The streamlined forward stack is false and does not ventilate engine exhaust. It is a signature of naval architect George Sharp, whose ideas regarding fireproof ships were first incorporated into the Clipper. This stack became standard on many new ships that were to come. George G. Sharp is credited with three historic vessels, the Milwaukee Clipper being first, followed by victory ship SS Lane Victory and NS Savannah.

The new ship featured air conditioned staterooms, a children's playroom, a movie theater, a dance floor with a live band, a soda fountain, bar, cafeteria known for its cuisine, lounges and sports deck, and capacity to carry 120 automobiles. On June 3, 1941, she made her maiden voyage from Milwaukee to Muskegon. As the Milwaukee Clipper, she steamed between Muskegon and Milwaukee, as well as excursions throughout Lake Michigan visiting various other ports, for 29 seasons. She was also called the "Queen of the Great Lakes" and carried around 900 passengers and 120 automobiles in the summer. The amount of oil used varied per round trip, but was approximately 5,500 gallons. On week days the ship ran two round trips that took 7 hours each way, and they only ran three of the four boilers. On weekends, they ran three round trips on all four boilers, and each run was 6 hours, of course using more fuel on these runs. The crew lists were between 105 and 109, with around 55 of them in the steward's department alone to take care of the 900 or so passengers which were commonly on board. There are stories from former crew members about how they would "lose count" as to how many were actually onboard. If you were there, apparently you did not get turned away. The cost per person in the 1950s was $3.33 and $8.00 extra for an automobile, with an extra 75 cents charged to travel in the forward Club Lounge and to use the forward deck.^[5]

During World War II, the Clipper transported defense materials between Muskegon and Milwaukee. The ship had contracts with auto manufacturers to carry new cars during her entire career. The passenger season was between May and September. After that she was under various limited passenger certificates which allowed her to carry a reduced number of passengers and up to 250 automobiles.

By 1970, the company had plans to replace the Clipper with the newer and larger Aquarama. Negotiations regarding dredging the Milwaukee harbor for the Aquarama failed and the plan did not materialize. Ironically, though 1970 was a banner year for the Clipper, she stopped running her regular route after that year.

Museum Ship

SS Milwaukee Clipper docked in Muskegon

In 1977, the "Clipper" was purchased by Chicago interests operating out of Navy Pier. They planned on putting the ship on a Chicago to Milwaukee run made popular by the whaleback passenger ship SS Christopher Columbus. Financial backing fell through and the ship remained as a museum ship on Navy Pier.

In December 1983, the SS Milwaukee Clipper was listed on the National Register of Historic Places,^[1] and in May 1989 she was designated a National Historic Landmark.^[2][6] Today, both plaques are on board the ship. The next year (1990), she was sold to Hammond, Indiana where she served as the centerpiece for their large new marina. She was sold on December 2, 1997 for use as a museum in Muskegon, Michigan, her old home port.

The "SS Milwaukee Clipper" is currently docked at Muskegon, Michigan at the old Grand Trunk Ferry dock, undergoing restoration by volunteers of the SS Milwaukee Clipper Preservation, Inc. organization. The ship is open for tours between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. Visitors can now tour the pilothouse, some staterooms, crew quarters, dance floor, soda bowl, and movie theater. A large collection of the original Art Deco furniture remains on board. Warren McArthur was the designer and builder of the ship furniture. The frames were all aluminum. He designed furniture for buildings, such as theaters, and there were no two that were alike. A piece of Clipper furniture off the ship is readily identifiable. There are also displays of memorabilia from both the Juniata and the Clipper, which include memory books, photographs, brochures, dishes and other items of interest.

In the summer of 2012, there will be an added display on the ship of antique boats from Muskegon. Tour season starts Memorial weekend and runs through Labor Day weekend with guided tours of the SS Milwaukee Clipper Museum Ship on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5pm. Bring your camera to see this 107 year old historical maritime museum ship full of Great Lakes artifacts and Muskegon antique boats. Find out what a "soda bowl" is and don't forget to stop into the ship store. The ship is docked at 2098 Lakeshore Drive in Muskegon. Welcome aboard!!

In media

A 30-minute documentary entitled The Milwaukee Clipper: A Legend Saved was produced by filmmaker Mark Howell in 1997 and shown on PBS. It has interviews with the key people who worked aboard the ship and includes restored 16 mm color footage of the Milwaukee Clipper's christening, sailing, and other operations.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• SS Milwaukee Clipper website
• SS Milwaukee Clipper history
• HNSA Ship Page: SS Milwaukee Clipper