The Ship that Built Cleveland

Below are pictures from inside and around the 'William Mather', Cleveland's iconic steamship that rests adjacent to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the Great Lakes Science Center. I recently had a chance to tour the freighter and immediately felt obliged to share such a cool Cleveland monument with my readers. Clearly this is not intimately connected with Hudson, however it is nonetheless a vital chapter in the story of Northeast Ohio's history and development. The 618' ship was built in 1925 as served as the flagship to the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, now simply Cleveland Cliffs. All of the pictures were taken by me, with the exception of the first, listed below.

ABOVE: The Mather in action - loading in the late 1920's

ABOVE: Picture from inside the hull - storage area for cargo. Capacity = 14,000 tons

ABOVE: Picture of Captain's Lounge. Notice the brass and oak decor. These living quarters were the most spacious and luxurious of all Great Lakes freighters when she was built.

ABOVE: View from inside the main cabin.

Great view of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Old nautical map of downtown Cleveland and the Cuyahoga.

Picture of the Captain's living quarters. Not very spacious but very accomodating and comfortable.

Windlass Room - The windlass, or winch, was used for raising and lowering the anchors. Weight of each anchor = 4 tons 

A shot down the belly of the Mather, looking northward across Lake Erie.