![]() ![]() Take a good look at the Marine Star it might not be there by this time next year. Plans are 'still moving ahead' for entertainment/cruise ship To the joy of many, the ship shuffled out of Buffalo on July 15, 1997. ![]() As you can see, the plans did not work out. The Aquarama was mothballed in 1963 and was moored at a slip on the Detroit River until it was towed to Buffalo in 1995 with hopes of being converted into a casino ship. It was remembered by many for its Great Lakes grandeur. The new Aquarama had nine decks containing four restaurants, four bars, movie theatres, recreation areas and room for 160 cars and 2,600 passengers. It was a frequent site on Lake Erie as it took passengers between Detroit and Cleveland with the occasional stop in Buffalo. ![]() In 1952 a Detroit industrialist bought it and spent $8 million converting the USS Marine Star into a cruise-ferry ship named the S. It only made one trip across the Atlantic before the war ended. Originally named the Marine Star, the craft was a “Liberty” ship, built in 1945 in Chester, Pa., to act as a transoceanic U.S. In fact, it was a historic vessel that not only helped win World War II but added luxury to Great Lakes travel in an era when the Great Lakes were truly “great.” It was despised by many as a daily reminder of the lack of development on Buffalo’s grand historic waterfront. Many a Western New Yorker will remember the large, derelict, rusting monster of a ship that spend 12 years resting near an abandoned Route 5 grain elevator. Radio, gypo pilot, radio-direction-finder, ship-to-shore phone, closed circuit television. All-steel construction, fire-resistant furnishing. Displaces 10,600 tons, 10,000 horsepower – oil fired, turbine propelled, single screw. ![]()
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