Construction
Olympian was built in 1883, at Wilmington, Delaware by Harlan and Hollingsworth. She was a sidewheeler driven by a single cylinder vertical condensing walking-beam steam engine, which gave her high speed. Her iron hull was 262 feet (80 m) long, 73' in beam over the paddle guards, and rated at 1419 tons. She was built primarily for service on Puget Sound, as her draft of 8' feet meant she needed too much water to be of much use on most of the Columbia other than the lower river from Portland to Astoria. Mills described her as follows:
| “ | Everything about her was the latest. Her grand saloon, reaching the length of the main cabin, was 200 feet (61 m) long, with mahogany furniture, upholstered in plush, resting on Wilton velvet carpet. Off the saloon opened fifty staterooms, each fitted with all the latest in polished mirrors and washstands; some cabins had brass bedsteads instead of the conventional berths. Incandescent electric lights shown in every part of the boat. From her dining saloon, seating 130 passengers, her fancy chandeliers and her ebony trimmed grand staircase to her wide guards and arching paddleboxes she looked elegant and expensive, and she was. | ” |
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