SS Columbia - Deterioration

Deterioration

Due to competition from nearby Cedar Point, attendance at Boblo Island declined. In 1990, the company then operating Boblo Island said the steamers were too much to handle and were becoming a burden on the company's finances. The summer of 1991 was the last for Columbia and Ste. Claire. In 1993, Boblo Island was closed and sold to real estate developers. The ships were docked outside the Great Lakes Steel Company in Ecorse, Michigan where they sat unprotected from the harsh Michigan winters. They were auctioned in 1996 and by 2000, both steamers were showing deterioration with chipped paint, rotting wood, and holes in the decks.

In 2004 a team led by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy had Columbia "shrink-wrapped" (in heavy plastic tarps) to reduce further deterioration while they considered purchase and restoration. However, in early 2006, given budgetary constraints they removed themselves from consideration. Later that year, with the assistance of National Trust for Historic Preservation Columbia was awarded to a New York based non-profit group, "The S.S. Columbia Project", for restoration to active service as an educational, cultural, and Heritage tourism resource for use on the Hudson River.

The plan for the ship's restoration and re-use was based on the European model of maritime preservation where the ship's restoration is funded through a non profit capital campaign and then the ship's operations are funded through earned revenues. Plans for the restored ship included daily excursions from the west side of Manhattan to the communities of the Hudson Valley.