Help Save a National Historic Landmark: Dry Docking the S.S. City of Milwaukee

The S.S. City of Milwaukee is one of Michigan’s most important surviving links to the Great Lakes’ industrial and transportation history. Built in 1931, she is the last unmodified traditional Great Lakes railroad car ferry in existence and is a National Historic Landmark. For decades, ships like her were a critical extension of Michigan’s rail system, carrying entire freight trains, automobiles, and passengers across Lake Michigan and supporting manufacturing, agriculture, travel, and jobs in communities throughout the state. When the Grand Trunk Western Railroad ended car ferry operations in 1978, the importance of this industry was so clear that the State of Michigan (MDOT) even purchased the City of Milwaukee, and leased her to the Ann Arbor Railroad until 1981, in an effort to keep the car ferry system alive and protect a transportation network vital to Michigan’s economy.

Today, she is preserved in Manistee, Michigan, where she serves the community as a museum ship, overnight “Boatel,” event venue, and home to the award-winning haunted attraction, Manistee’s Ghost Ship, welcoming thousands of visitors each year from across Michigan and beyond.

Why Dry Docking Is Critical

Like all historic ships, the City of Milwaukee requires specialized care to survive. Much of the ship’s steel hull lies below the waterline and cannot be fully inspected or repaired while afloat. A trip to dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, in Sturgeon Bay, WI, allows the vessel to be lifted out of the water so preservation professionals can:

Inspect and repair underwater hull steel

Address corrosion before it becomes structural

Seal and protect sea chests and through-hull openings

Apply a long-term protective epoxy coating

Extend the safe, usable life of the ship for many decades to come

Without periodic dry docking, even well-maintained ships face increasing risk of serious hull deterioration that can threaten their future. Once an issue arises, it may be too late to address. Proactive preservation is the only responsible approach.

Our Goal

The Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee is pursuing a full dry docking and long-term preservation project to ensure this irreplaceable vessel remains safe, stable, and accessible for future generations. This project is one of the most important preservation efforts in the ship’s history. It is only possible with your support.

Our current fundraising goal for this project is $1,000,000, which we will attain through private donations, grants, and our own operations. Every donation, large or small, helps move this project forward, makes grant/public funding applications more competitive, and demonstrates the broad community commitment needed to preserve Michigan’s maritime heritage. Thank you.

Donation Disclaimer:

Donations to this campaign are generally restricted for the dry dock preservation project of the S.S. City of Milwaukee. However, should the Board of Directors determine that the dry dock project becomes unfeasible in the future, the Society reserves the right to apply contributed funds toward other long-term preservation and stabilization projects that further our mission of preserving the City of Milwaukee.

The Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.