Canadiana (Steamship)

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The SS Canadiana was a steamship which primarily travelled between Buffalo, New York and the amusement park at Crystal Beach, Ontario.

The ship was built at the Buffalo Dry Dock in 1910. It was 215 feet long and 54 feet wide amidships. Luxuriously fitted with brass rails, mahogany trim and bevelled mirrors, it was definitely built to be a premier vessel designed not only for transportation, but also for pleasure. Originally intended to carry 3500 passengers, it was decided by the United States Coast Guard that 1800 was a safer number. With the reduction in passenger capacity, the ship's owners found room to construct the largest dance floor of any steamer ever placed on the Great Lakes. Canadiana was popularly known as "The Crystal Beach Boat", but occasionally would make journeys to other destinations, including Port Colborne, Ontario.

Nevertheless, Crystal Beach remained its primary destination. After the construction of the Peace Bridge in 1929, allowing automobile traffic between Buffalo and Crystal Beach, some of the popularity of the boat was lost. But this did not stop the service which ran until 1956.

In its last year of service, the Canadiana suffered a serious blow. On a trip returning from Crystal Beach to Buffalo on the evening of May 30, 1956, violence erupted between several youths. Some of the belligerents were white, and some black, and there is little doubt that racism was a factor in the incident. The incident, combined with revenues which were shrinking for other reasons, made continued operation uneconomical, and 1956 proved to be the last year for the service to Crystal Beach.

The Canadiana operated briefly in Ohio, then entered into a fight with the scrap yard which lasted almost half a century. The group "Friends of the Canadiana" was formed in 1984 to try to save the ship. The ship was towed to a scrappers yard in Port Colborne, and finally in 2004 was cut up for scrap.

Much of the wooden superstructure was saved and manufactured into various memorabilia.

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