Please save the date and join us for our

Inaugural Gala Benefit Dinner  

Monday, November 19th 2012

Cocktail Reception at 5:30pm

Awards & Dinner at 7pm

The New York Yacht Club

37 W. 44th St, New York NY 10036

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We hope you can join us! We will be introducing our S.S. Columbia to New York

and will be celebrating three distinguished honorees:

Ken Adams is reviving our economy through his leadership of the New York State’s Economic Development Council. Mr. Adams envisions  how S.S. Columbia will enrich our region through responsible heritage tourism, re-establishing the reputation of our region as the “Rhine of America.”

Ellen Burstyn fondly remembers riding the S.S. Columbia to the Boblo Island in her youth. Ms. Burstyn has lived on the banks of the Hudson River for almost 40 years and can anticipate the great benefits that a restored S.S. Columbia will bring to the region and to children of all ages.

Fred Osborn is a philanthropic visionary who has been spearheading S.S. Columbia’s restoration and has been a leader in ensuring the Hudson River Valley remains a place of innovative stewardship for our region’s unique cultural, scenic and environmental resources.

Benefit Committee:

J. Winthrop Aldrich, Richard Anderson, Kent Barwick, Joan K. Davidson, Bob Elliot, Lee Gruzen, Robert Hammond, Clay Hiles, Bob McKay Ph.D, Fred Osborn, David Redden, Mrs. Anne P. Sidamon-Eristoff, Pennell Whitney, Jean Wort

On February 4th, Robert Hammond, Reed Kroloff, and Phillip Cooley toured SS Columbia. 

Robert Hammond is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Highline. The Highline has inspired people around the globe as a model of stewardship and the adaptive re-use of our industrial heritage. Reed Kroloff, the Director of The Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,  has a keen interest in the role of aesthetics and design in the rebuilding and revitalizing of our cities.  Phillip Cooley is a community activist, who has spearheaded a number of innovative redevelopment projects in Detroit, contributing to renewal within the city.

We are pleased to have hosted these three highly respected community activists aboard SS Columbia. Each has led projects focusing on stewardship of our industrial past as a means of enriching our experience of the contemporary landscape. SSCP is founded on these same principles and is working toward fostering similar beneficial impacts in the Hudson River Valley and New York Harbor.

CATHERINE GAVIN

Detroit is home to countless ruins, but the floating hulk of the S.S. Columbia, docked in Ecorse, Michigan, stands out among the roster of idled factories and abandoned houses. The oldest remaining steam passenger vessel in the country, the Columbia was built in 1902 with an innovative structural design by Frank E. Kirby and opulent interiors by Louis O. Keil. The steel and wood ship crisscrossed the Detroit River headed for Boblo Island in Ontario for 89 years. Despite insensitive renovations and 20 years of neglect, the grand ballroom, bandstand, mahogany and oak staircases, mahogany paneled walls with etched leaded-glass lights, and ceiling frescos all remain under the layers of paint. The S.S. Columbia Project is charged with the restoration, and a plan is afloat to put the boat back in service in New York’s Hudson Valley. Detroiters shouldn’t despair though. Another steam ship—the S.S. Ste. Claire also docked nearby—may be returned to Detroit’s waterways.

Catherine Gavin

Catherine Gavin

 The SS Columbia long served as one of the Boblo boats used to ferry passengers to the amusement park island in the Detroit River. It will now be restored.

The SS Columbia long served as one of the Boblo boats used to ferry passengers to the amusement park island in the Detroit River.

 But for 20 years, one of the oldest surviving passenger steam ships in the US has been sitting alone in the river rouge for 20 years.

Richard Anderson is part of a group trying to restore the ship. So it can be used as a heritage tour boat on the Hudson River. The group bought the boat for a dollar. It’s going to cost $13 million US to bring back its charm.

The CBC’s Allison Johnson toured the ship and spoke with Anderson. http://bit.ly/qjAc2V