Description
When completed, Bristol and Providence were amongst the largest and most lavishly outfitted American vessels of their time. They were the largest wooden-hulled steamers ever built for service on Long Island Sound and the first to have two full passenger decks above the main deck.
Each ship had 240 staterooms and over 300 berths, capable of accommodating 1,200 passengers, 840 of them in sleeping quarters. Their freight capacity was estimated at 40 railroad freight cars each. Their wooden hulls and paddle-boxes were strengthened with iron cross-bracings, while for safety they were installed with watertight compartments. The ships had gas lighting, and later on, steam heating and steam-powered steering. The decks, which were built of white oak, included an extra "gallery tier" deck from which passengers could view their surroundings.
Contemporary American observers gushed over the size and sophistication of the ships, lauding them as "world renowned mammoth palace steamers", "so far in advance of the type of steamboats heretofore built that they were looked upon as marvels" and "the finest specimens of marine architecture of their day." One observer described the interiors thus:
... The painting, by George C. Barker & Son, and the decorating by Hayman, of this city, have been a source of enormous outlay, but the result is an equivalent to the cost, for the passenger, on arriving at the Quarter Deck and proceeding to the Grand Saloon, must certainly imagine that he is in the halls of enchantment, only read of in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. In each panel of the quarter-deck is painted a piece of statuary, while every nook and corner is covered with paint of the most delicate hue and finished off with an abundance of gilt. The appearance of the main saloon is really charming. Here, there, and everwhere, are flowers and birds, the one, in some cases, just appearing to blossom and the other, apparently, just waiting to spring from a branch, whereon it is perched, so naturally is everything done. In the main saloon, ladies' saloon, and social hall, may be seen very delightful specimens of good taste in the selection of the new velvet carpets, rugs, mats, silk curtains, lace curtains, etc., all of which are of the very costliest kind. The whole of the furniture in the grand saloon and ladies' saloon is covered in plum colored velvet, while that of the social hall is done in velvet and rep, each having a very beautiful effect on the surroundings ...
As a finishing touch, flamboyant owner Jim Fisk had 250 canaries in cages installed in each ship, each bird personally named by Fisk himself.
Bristol and Providence began a tradition of luxury travel on Narragansett Bay that would remain a popular attraction to travellers for the next fifty years. For a modest price, an ordinary working person could gain a glimpse of the opulent lifestyles of the wealthy just by taking a cruise on such a vessel.
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