page_title: SS Greater Detroit
section_title: End of service
hierarchical_section_title: SS Greater Detroit / End of service
caption_attribution_description: English: The anchor of the SS Greater Detroit, a Detroit and Cleveland Navigation company steamship that sailed Lake Erie from 1924-1950. The anchor was cut during scrapping in 1956 and recovered in 2016 from the Detroit River. It currently resides outside the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority building in Detroit.
context_page_description: SS Greater Detroit was a sidewheel steamer on Lake Erie that was launched in 1923. It was operated by the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company and carried passengers between Detroit, Michigan and Buffalo, New York. Greater Detroit and her sister ship, SS Greater Buffalo, were the largest and most expensive sidewheel steamers in the world at the time of their launching, and were capable of transporting more passengers than many oceangoing liners of the time. They were renowned for their onboard luxury, decor and modern amenities. Nicknamed the "Leviathan of the Great Lakes", Greater Detroit was in passenger service for 26 years until 1950, when she became too expensive to continue to operate. The ship was sold for scrap in 1956.
context_section_description: Rising labor costs and competition from the automobile made the ship's post World War II future uncertain. In an effort to make the ship more economical to operate and reduce pollution, the ship's coal boilers were replaced with six oil burning marine engines in 1949. In 1950 the ship was also repainted white to underscore the cleanliness of the refitted vessel. These changes were ultimately in vain, as the ship was removed from service in the fall of 1950. In 1951 Greater Detroit was finally retired. The ship sat unused until 1956 when it was sold for scrap. The interior fittings were sold as souvenirs to area residents, and on December 12, 1956 the ship was towed out onto Lake St. Claire and lit on fire to remove all wooden elements of the superstructure and make scrapping easier. Without steam power the 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) anchor was unable to be raised and was instead cut, resting on the bottom of the Detroit River for almost 60 years. The hull was then towed to Hamilton, Ontario and was scrapped by the Steel Company of Canada.
  On November 15, 2016, the anchor was recovered by a team of divers from the Great Lakes Maritime Institute. It is currently on display outside the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Office in downtown Detroit.
caption: The anchor of SS Greater Detroit, on display outside the Port of Detroit.
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