SS Columbia is one of two remaining excursion steamships from the turn of the 20th century in existence, the second being her running mate, and sister ship SS Ste. Claire. Both were designed by Frank E. Kirby and Louis O. Keil. Columbia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. •
The Columbia was launched in 1902, making her the oldest propeller-driven steam excursion ship still in existence in the U.S. And for nearly 90 years, the Columbia ferried metro Detroiters to Boblo Island, an amusement park smack dab in the middle of the Detroit River.
In 1910, the Columbia got itself a little sister, the SS Ste. Claire. The rest is Motor City lore. Generations of metro Detroiters and Windsorites caught a ride to the amusement park on one of the big boats.*
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Boblo Island, Mort Crim,