Most were between 1,000 and 1,600 tons. The City of Buffalo , built in 1857, was the last and largest of them. It measured 350 feet in length and was 2,026 tons burthen. On either hand the doors open into the staterooms. The cabin has an arched ceiling, which together with the panels, are ornamented by gilt mouldings, the white and gold making a very rich appearance.
Splendid chandeliers light it by night, the center one being double.
The fairy palaces of the imagination were never so gorgeously furnished, nor could the famous barge of Cleopatra, with its silken sails, rival this noblest of steamers. Most of the Palace Steamers ran from Buffalo to Detroit or Chicago. Only the smallest could fit through the Sault Locks when they were opened in 1855. The Panic of 1857 ruined the passenger business on the Lakes. The entire fleet of Palace Steamers was withdrawn from service.