Help Save A Drive-In!
This drive-in is in danger of being torn down for a Walmart. We drove past it this weekend while out taking pics and I found out about its plight in a search for more information on when it closed.
As far as I can tell, a bit of “trivia” I turned up is correct-this is the only drive in in the US with commercial rental space built into the base of the screen. There is a grass roots effort underway to save it. Even something as quick and easy as sending them an email to forward to the town and Walmart can help, by showing support and interest in saving this treasure. Drive ins across the country are going dark, this is a chance to save one from that fate. The site for the group trying to save it from the wrecking ball can be found here: http://members.bluefrog.com/ttroidl/
Drive-ins and classic cars go together as part of our culture. The loss of drive ins and decay of places like Route 66 just chips away at the automotive past…
If you can, write them a quick letter of support and spread the word. the more interest is shown, the more likely that this one place can be saved…
Aquarama Update
It’s with sad regret that I have to post this update. I’ve been quite busy this summer with my own business in addition to a regular job and other matters and missed the Aquarama’s departure from her mooring in Buffalo. After a drive down the waterfront revealed her empty berth, I jumped online and begain searching, hoping her fate would be different than the Canadiana. Unfortunatly, it’s only different in that she is now in a Turkish scrapyard, rather than a Canadian one. The information I have found shows she arrived at her final port October 4th, 2007. R.I.P. Aquarama.
Derelict or Dream? The SS Aquarama
The above photo was taken recently in Buffalo New York. At first glance, the ship looks like a common derelict-a left over from the time when Buffalo was a bustling shipping port. A closer look reveals the name “Aquarama”. Searching the internet brings a wealth of information on a ship by that name.
The SS Aquarama begin her life as the Marine Star, a “liberty ship” meant to ferry troops to the war effort. She made one transatlantic journey before the war ended and she was decommissioned. A company bought her in the 50’s and renovated her into a ferry of a different sort. She was renamed the SS Aquarama and begain ferrying cars and people between Detroit and Clevelend. She was quite a sight, with two dance floors and indoor sitting areas. She was eventually mothballed in 1963 when it was no longer cost effective to ferry travelers across the lake.
She was towed to Buffalo in the 90’s to become a floating casino, however that hasn’t materialized yet. She just sits in her mooring, waiting…
Some might think her plight is reminicent of the Crystal Beach Boat (the Canadiana), which sadly was lost a few years ago. She spent her last few years sitting intentionally scuttled in a shallow mooring in the Welland Canal before being cut up for scrap. Last I saw her, she was little more than a rusty hulk, stripped of all her trimmings. Both ships (it seems) spent time in the same Canadian Shipyard. The Canadiana’s story ended there, the Aquarama made it out in (mostly) one piece. Hopefully the Aquarama’s story has a better ending, although I did find mention in a new story of an Indian firm looking at her for scrap as well.
If you’d like to bring home a little great lakes history, click on the picture or one of the links to my photography shops in the sidebar for items featuring my photograph of the Aquarama in her berth.
Digitally altered photo (you may also click on this photo for a link to my shop):
