Boat - Chicago IL - Boat - Hold this rope 1905
by Mike Savad
Title
Boat - Chicago IL - Boat - Hold this rope 1905
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1905
Original title: Str. William E Corey, Stern view
Photographer: Detroit Publishing
Location: Calumet River, at 101st Street, Chicago,IL
A hundred years back or so, there was a ship building company, it was located by the Calumet River, in Chicago. The Chicago Shipbuilding company was created in 1890. They were the most notable builders of steel-hulled ships that were built on Lake Michigan.
They also built the first sail-less barge. In the past they used sales to move the barge, but it was hard finding people who still knew how to use that old technology. Remove the sail, add a motor. I believe these large ships still had places for sails anyway, as a backup.
If you look on the side of the ship, the left side, they are getting ready for launch. They will send this down sideways into the water, there are people greasing the wood ramps. In those days they used tallow and whale oil, the ramp is called a slipway.
In those days you had to put a lot of faith in wood beams. On the right side there is a series of ropes and chains, those are attached to the wood beams on the left. When its ready to slide in, they would pull on those ropes and the wood would fall, the boat would hopefully go in, and not cause a local tsunami that would probably take out that pier (as it happens on today's ships).
If you look carefully, you'll notice no rudder, that was often added by divers after its in the water, otherwise it could break off. The William E Corey, this ship, was launched on June 24th 1905, at the cost of $475,000 to build. It as the first flag ship of the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. of Cleveland. And it has a pretty long history too.
Six months after it launched, it ran into a severe storm in the Western Lake Superior. The steamer ran aground on a reef, but it was salvaged and repaired at the cost of $100,000, from then on it was smooth sailing.
After many years of operation, and several structural changes, the ship was sold to the Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd, a British company in 1963. It was renamed the "Ridgetown", it ran regularly until the end of 1969.
In 1970 it was sold again to the Canadian Dredge & Dry Dock co. It was eventually towed to Nanicoke Ontario, filled with stones, and it settled down to be used as a temporary break wall.
In the summer of 1974, it was re-floated, and towed to Port Credit Harbor, Toronto, filled with stones again. And once again it became a breakwater, and to this day, its still there, living has a wall. You can see it there, its just outside the JJ Plaus park marina, a ship parked outside of a bay.
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July 21st, 2019
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