SS City of Paris (1888)

SS City Of Paris (1888)

City of Paris, was a British built passenger liner of the Inman Line that held the Blue Riband as the fastest ship on the north Atlantic route from 1889 to 1891 and again from 1892 to 1893. A sister ship of the City of New York and a rival of the White Star Teutonic and Majestic, City of Paris proved to be the quickest of the pre-Campania twin screw express liners. In 1893, she was renamed Paris and transferred to US registry when the Inman Line was merged into the American Line. She and her sister were pared with the new American built St Louis and St Paul to form one of the premier Atlantic services and were known as the "big four". Paris served the US Navy as the auxiliary cruiser Yale during the Spanish American War and is remembered for slipping into the harbor at San Juan, Puerto Rico under the Spanish guns of Morro Castle. After Paris returned to commercial service, she was seriously damaged in 1899 when she grounded on the Manacles off of the British coast. Rebuilt and renamed Philadelphia, she sailed for the American Line until requisitioned again during World War I as the transport Harrisburg. After the war, she continued with the American Line until 1920 and was scrapped in 1923.