Columbia (steamer)
Excursion steamer in Buffalo, New York. Added to the National Register in 1979, and a National Historic Landmark.
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What it is
SS Columbia is one of the last remaining excursion steamship from the turn of the 20th century in existence, the other being her running mate and sister ship SS Ste. Claire which was badly damaged in a fire in 2018. Both were designed by Frank E. Kirby and Louis O. Keil, interior designer. Columbia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992. As of 2019, the vessel is docked at Silo City in Buffalo, New York while work is being done to rehabilitate it. However as of February 2024 the restoration group's website was offline and archived images showed no updates since 2021. In March 2024 a local news and events site described the vessel as "at risk" and their social media pages were offline.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Structure |
| Address | Buffalo River, Buffalo, NY |
| County | Erie County |
| Listed | Nov 2, 1979 |
| Listed for | Engineering, Maritime history, Transportation |
| Level of significance | National |
| Also known as | The Bob-Lo Boat; Steamer COLUMBIA |
| Reference number | 79001171 |
| Type of place | steamboat |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 1 structure |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | Buffalo River, Buffalo, NY |
| Coordinates | 42.8609° N, 78.8623° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Buffalo | 211 listed places in Buffalo → |
| Nearest national park unit | River Raisin National Battlefield Park · 33 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Erie County
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Local history books for Buffalo and Erie County
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Buffalo, Good Neighbors, Great Architecture (Making of America: New York)Nancy Blumenstalk Mingus, 2003Find at Bookshop.org
Guidebooks to historic places in New York
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Columbia (steamer) listed on the National Register?
Nov 2, 1979. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Where is Columbia (steamer)?
Buffalo River, Buffalo, Erie County, New York. The nearest national park unit is River Raisin National Battlefield Park, 33 miles away.
Where is the nomination form for Columbia (steamer)?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there cell service at Columbia (steamer)?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data, and the map point comes from Wikidata. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 79001171. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.