FlickrNiagara: The wreck of the Canadiana?

Once again, Bill Strong comes through with an amazing flickr photo for our FlickrNiagara series. According to comments on the flickr page, the ship you see run aground is the SS Canadiana.

The Canadiana was one of two ships (the other being the Americana) that ferried passengers back and forth from Buffalo NY to Crystal Beach ON back in the golden years of the town. Most people have long forgotten now, but nearly a century ago, Crystal Beach was a real hotspot in Niagara. The amusement park, the ballroom -- during the first half of the 20th century, Crystal Beach was a resort town to be reckoned with. Those days are long gone now.

But this ship? This ship isn't the Canadiana. Sure it says that on the back, and it absolutely looks turn of the century, but the Canadiana was a luxury liner designed to hold 3500 people. It serviced Crystal Beach until 1956, moved to Ohio briefly, and sat in a scrap yard until it was dissembled in 2004. Photographs of the actual Canadiana show that this was a much, much larger ship than the one seen above.

But if this ferry isn't the Canadiana, what is it? And why was it run aground in Port Colborne? And most importantly, why does it say Canadiana on the back?

If anyone out there knows the answer behind this mystery ship, please let us know in the comments!

[Image]

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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1. 1

   sal said:

   That is the Canadiana. I checked different angles of old photos- it's the angle and the fact that it's missing two upper decks that make it look much smaller....

   Posted at 04:16 PM, on December 4 2009

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