Why we need your help:
2021 is a critical year for SS Columbia. We have completed a laser scan of the deckhouse and interior hull spaces. With this highly accurate data, we can begin to map out exactly how the restoration will proceed. It also allows us to create various “virtual restorations” so we can see how our decisions will translate onto the boat herself, and also help us fit in some of the modern amenities that will be required when she resumes operation as an inspected passenger vessel.
The project will restore the vessel as a unique, beautiful, and living artifact. While most maritime preservation projects present the vessel as a static object, visitors to the Columbia will enjoy her as she was meant to be experienced, as a functioning vessel. No film, photo, or Web site can match the experience of climbing the mahogany-paneled staircase into the grand salon; seeing the river glide by through beveled glass windows; or watching the engineers polish the brass and monitor the steam gauges.
The restoration will involve all aspects of the vessel’s structure including repairs to the superstructure and the hull; updating and enhancing mechanical systems; restoring and recreating elements of the steamboat palace décor; and discreetly inserting necessary infrastructural enhancements such as an elevator, modern safety and communications systems.
With the help of a Maritime Heritage Grant from the National Park Service and an Environmental Protection Fund grant from the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, we have a large portion of the funding we need for the work that needs to be accomplished, but every dollar counts.