Milwaukee Clipper - Museum Ship

Museum Ship

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

In December 1983, Milwaukee Clipper was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in May 1989 the ship was designated a National Historic Landmark. 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.

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 Milwaukee Clipper furniture off the ship is readily identifiable. There are also displays of memorabilia from both Juniata and Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee Clipper on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5pm. The ship is docked at 2098 Lakeshore Drive in Muskegon.