Whaleback Steamships, SS Christopher Columbus

The S.S Christopher Columbus, the only Whaleback Passenger Steamer ever built!

Below is a very early ca. 1892-93 advertising card on heavy paper board, describing the S.S Christopher Columbus Whaleback with an inset photograph of Capt. Alexander McDougall (1845-1924). The artist drawn S.S Christopher Columbus image is pasted onto the heavy paper board and has a description on the backside.

This card is a very early & relatively rare advertising item on the S. S Christopher Columbus, I have never seen another in 40 years of collecting. The Christopher Columbus was built specifically to carry passengers to and from the 1892 Worlds Fair (Columbian Exposition) held in Chicago.

During the Fair years, the Christopher Columbus carried nearly two million passengers on the six-mile run between Randolph Street in downtown Chicago and the exposition grounds at Jackson Park. The name "Whaleback" was not an official name, it was used because of the ships design and appearance.

Click on all thumbnails for enlargements ~

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Size: 4" x 8-1/8"

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Above left: A RPPC of the Christoper Columbus several years after the Fair ended.
Above right: A "Hold to Light" postcard of the Christopher Columbus during the Worlds Fair.

The Christopher Columbus was one of the most elegantly decorated ships afloat in that era. Whether it was an ocean going liner or a great lakes liner, the Chistopher Columbus was designed to provide Fair passengers with comfort and elegance.

The photo to the left shows the Columbus pulling into the dock to unload passengers for the Worlds Fair.

As seen above in the 1892 advertising piece an additional deck was added (see RPPC above left) after the worlds Fair ended and the Columbus was put into service as a Great lakes Passenger Steamer and ultimately had a 44 year career, ending up in a scrap pile in 1936. What a shame this ship was not preserved.

Cargo Carrying Whalebacks

Capt. Alexander McDougall, inventor of the "Whaleback" ship design wanted a ship that would be more stable on the extremely dangerous Great Lakes and yet hold significant amounts of cargo.

McDougall came up with a partially submerged ship design, very much like a submarine except the wheelhouse was above the water. The cargo holds were below the surface. There is one remaining Whaleback in existence in Superior, Wisconsin, the S.S Meteor which became a Museum in 1973.

My wife and I toured that ship about 20 years ago and I would have hated to have been below during a storm on the Lakes! Whalebacks were hard working ships and comfort below deck obviously was not a priority.