SS Christopher Columbus - Construction and Columbian Exposition

Construction and Columbian Exposition

The World's Fair Steamship Company ordered the construction of the Columbus at an estimated cost of $360,000. The job was undertaken at McDougall's American Steel Barge Company works in Superior, Wisconsin, starting in the fall of 1892.

The hull framing, which included nine bulkheads, was completed on September 13, 1892. The ship's propulsion mechanisms were next installed, consisting of a single four-bladed, 14-foot (4 m) diameter, 19-foot (6 m) pitch propeller, the two reciprocating triple-expansion steam engines (with three cylinders of 26-inch (66 cm), 42-inch (107 cm) and 70-inch (178 cm) diameters in a common frame with a 42-inch (107 cm) stroke) manufactured by Samuel F. Hodge & Co. of Detroit, Michigan, and six steel tubular return Scotch boilers, (11-foot (3 m) diameter by 12-foot (4 m) long), built by Cleveland Shipbuilding Company. The rounded hull top was then added, followed by the six turrets, which were substantially larger than those employed on freighter whalebacks. The ship was launched on December 3, 1892, after which two superstructure decks were mounted on the turrets along the centerline of her hull to afford access to her two internal decks, one in the turrets and one in the hull below.

She was fitted out over the remainder of late 1892 and early 1893. Electric lighting was used, and she was elegantly furnished. Her grand saloon and skylighted promenade deck contained several fountains and a large aquarium filled with trout and other fish of the lakes. The cabins and public spaces were fitted out with oak paneling, velvet carpets, etched glass windows, leather furniture and marble. Shops and restaurants were provided for the passengers.

McDougall's American Steel Barge Company had committed in the contract that the Columbus would be built and delivered in three months, making her one of the fastest-built large ships of her time. The builders further promised rapid loading and unloading, predicting that the vessel would be able to embark 5,000 passengers in five minutes, and disembark the same passengers in even less time. The Columbus was specified to be able run the 6 miles (10 km) from the dock downtown to the fairgrounds at Jackson Park and 64th Street in 20 minutes.

McDougall set up another holding company, the Columbian Whaleback Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota, to own and operate the Columbus. She was commissioned on May 13, 1893. Her first captain was John McArthur, who had captained other whalebacks for McDougall's firms, starting with the first powered whaleback, the Colgate Hoyt, built in 1890. McDougall was quoted as having said to McArthur, "There is your steamboat; take her down to Chicago and make a success of her."

McArthur did just that. Painted in all white livery, the Columbus made multiple round trips per day, sailing along the Lake Michigan shoreline from the Randolph Street/Van Buren Street dock to the Jackson Park site of the World's Columbian Exposition's Beaux arts "White City" exposition fairgrounds. A contemporary souvenir booklet called her "the greatest marine wonder of its time", and another publication dubbed her the "Queen of the Lakes." She had an estimated capacity of 4,000–5,000 passengers on her four decks, but it was reported that she carried 7,000 on her maiden voyage. The Goodrich Transit Line steamer Virginia (later the USS Blue Ridge) is said to have raced against her.

The Columbus carried between 1.7 and 2.0 million passengers (sources differ) during the exposition, with only one fatality, a crew member. In recognition of that success, the commissioners of the exposition presented Captain McArthur with a gold watch engraved with a representation of the ship. McArthur went on to captain other whalebacks including the Frank Rockefeller, which became the SS Meteor, the only whaleback surviving today.