City of Milwaukee at her present location. She will be moving to a new dock nearer downtown sometime this fall. Crews are expected to start repainting her hull this summer.	City of Milwaukee at dock – Another view.	Original, 1931 builder’s plate, and plaque commemorating City of Milwaukee’s status as National Historic Landmark (1990)	Forward superstructure.
Pilothouse view.	Patrick Brandon, carferry veteran and City of Milwaukee board member, pauses in the pilothouse. He spends almost every weekend working on restoration of the vessel.	City of Milwaukee’s twin stacks and port lifeboat.	Roll-top desk in the Captain’s quarters.
Dining room, with skylight.	Galley, showing the old-fashioned cook stove.	Galley – Another view	Main galley.
Passenger dining.	Officer's mess.	Crews mess.	Crew hallway.
Passenger lounge.	Passenger hallway.	Engine dept. bunks.	Flicker (crews quarters). Bedrooms for crewmembers open off this central room below the car deck.
Another view	Engine room telegraph. The City of Milwaukee is powered by two side-by-side, triple expansion steam engines.	Car deck.	Another view.
Illustration shows how railcars were secured on the City of Milwaukee’s car deck.	Close up	Wheel stand.	Another view
Chart room.	Captain's room.	Captain's bunk.	Passenger bunks.
View aft from chart room.	Forward deck.	Anchor windlass.	Aft looking forward.

 

Milwaukee Clipper, Muskegon

The Milwaukee Clipper was built in 1905 as the passenger steamer Juniata for the Anchor Line (predating Titanic by seven years). In 1937, when new safety features were instituted for passenger, the Juniata was retired from service because of her wooden cabins. In 1940, the superstructure was replaced by an all steel, streamlined, and fireproof superstructure, the first design of its type in the world. The new ship featured air conditioned staterooms, a children's playroom, a movie theater, and live entertainment, complete with dance floor. On June 2, 1941 her name was changed to  Milwaukee Clipper. She served the cross-lake trade carrying passengers and cars on Lake Michigan until 1970. A number of plans for the Clipper fell through in the 1980s and early 1990s, including a bid to convert her to a casino and Hammond, Ind.

In 1997 the Great Lakes Clipper Preservation Association was formed, dedicated to preserving the steamer.

For more information, visit www.milwaukeeclipper.com
Reported by Roger LeLievre and Dave Wobser

Big Sable Point Light, Ludington
N. Schultheiss

If you want to try your hand at lighthouse-keeping, Big Sable Point Light, eight miles north of Ludington, inside Ludington State Park, is made to order.

The lighthouse is manned by four couples who volunteer to spend two weeks as light keepers and tour guides.

To reach the light, visitors walk 1.5 miles north along the beach or on a gravel road to the scenic location. The keepers quarters have been beautifully restored and the light is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., May 1 to Oct. 31.

The lower level of the keepers quarters houses a gift shop and many displays show the history of the light. For a small donation visitors may climb the tower and take in an amazing view of the area.

Big Sable Point is the first landfall for vessels heading north out of Chicago. Completed in 1867, the 112-foot tower is painted in black and white horizontal stripes, with a black, 10-sided lantern room. It was automated in 1968. Its original Third-Order Fresnel lens is on display in the Rose Hawley Museum in downtown Ludington.