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Ship Buildings (page 3)

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Boat and Lighthouse
Sarasota, FL
This Boat and Lighthouse were built by Art Rowe who was the former boat captain for John Ringling of circus fame. The boat was built in 1934 as Rowe's house and is still used as a residence today. The lighthouse was built a few years after the boat to create more space. It is octagonal in shape and 100 feet tall. For more, see this website.

Boat-shaped House
Fernandina Beach, FL
This Boat-shaped House is located near the marina. Does anyone know when it was built?

Karl's Cuisine Cafe
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
 Lockside Golf
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Karl's Cuisine Cafe opened in 2003. This building is probably older than that. It was obviously built to resemble a giant ship like those that pass through the Soo Locks across the street. Does anyone know what this building housed originally?

Lockside Golf is located next door to Karl's. It features a boat-shaped ticket office and a mini lighthouse.

Palace Showboat [gone]
Stockton, CA		 Far West Casino & Restaurant
Hardin, MT
The Palace Showboat was part of the Pollardville complex which opened in 1957 and closed in 2007. The ghost town/Western-themed complex was built around the Chicken Kitchen restaurant to draw in passing motorists. The Showboat was used for entertainment (theatre, music, and dancing). It was originally constucted in 1965 but I'm not sure if it had it's riverboat look then. Pollardville was demolished in 2010 and will be replaced with houses and a strip mall. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The Far West Casino & Restaurant features a ship-shaped building.

Fin 'n' Feather Showboats
Winneconne, WI
The Fin 'n' Feather Showboats features a simulated riverboat built on the Wolf River. The restaurant opened in 1922 as Korn's Tavern. In 1957, new owners renamed the restaurant and bar as the Fin 'n' Feather. There was a major fire in 1987. The restaurant was rebuilt to look like a riverboat at that time. In 1990, new owners renamed it the Fin 'n" Feather Showboats. In addition to the restaurant, the business features riverboat cruises and private charter cruises.

Terrible's St Jo Frontier Casino
St. Joseph, MO		 S.S. Delta Dogs
Vicksburg, MS
Terrible's St Jo Frontier Casino is a riverboat casino on the edge of the Missouri River. It was built in 1998 as a "boat in a moat" and does not leave the shore. For more, see this website.

S.S. Delta Dogs is a hot dog stand shaped like a paddlewheeler. The skirt around the bottom might indicate that it is moved to different locations.

Showboat Bus
Vicksburg, MS
This Showboat Bus apparently was used as a tourist bus at one time. It is now abandoned south of town.

USS Water Witch
Columbus, GA
The USS Water Witch is a 160 foot long replica of a Civil War ship. It is located next to the National Civil War Naval Museum. This ship was opened to the public in 2009. For more, see these websites: 1 and A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Water_Witch_(1851)" TARGET=_"blank">2.

Ripley's Believe It or Not
Panama City Beach, FL
This Ripley's Believe It or Not museum is housed in a shipwrecked ocean liner named the U.S.S Ripley. It was built in 2006. For more, see this website.

Titanic Branson
Branson, MO
Titanic Branson is housed in half-scale replica of the Titanic ocean liner. It was built in 2006. This tourist attraction allows guests to relive the last hours of that fateful voyage. A second location was built in Pigeon Forge, TN in 2010. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Captain Bill's Seneca Lake Cruises
Watkins Glen, NY
Captain Bill's Seneca Lake Cruises, a sightseeing boat company, was established in 1963. This faux ship is installed next to Lake Seneca.

Hurricane Camille Gift Shop [gone]
Gulfport, MS
 Sinking Ship
Seattle, WA
 Restaurant Miami Deli
Montréal, QC
While I don't normally include real boats in this section (only buildings constructed to look like them), I will bend the rules for the Hurricane Camille Gift Shop since it was such an icon. This 72 foot long tugboat was blown ashore by Hurricane Camille in 1969 and turned into a tourist attraction. While the boat itself survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the gift shop addition was destroyed. Then in 2008, the ship itself was demolished. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

This parking garage is nicknamed the Sinking Ship. It was built in 1962. There are plans to demolish it for a monorail station. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Restaurant Miami Deli has this giant boat installed in their parking lot. It appears to be purely sculptural rather than functional. Does anyone know its history?

Riverboat Saloon
Shartlesville, PA
The Riverboat Saloon is an example of a "real" ship placed far from the water. Built in 1980 in MN, the "Suwannee Belle" was used off the coast of NJ and NY before being decommissioned in 1991. There was a failed attempt to turn it into a restaurant and it was later moved to Tuckahoe, NJ. It then sat in storage until 2003 when it was bought and brought to this spot. The owner of the Towne Crier Cafe next door wanted to put it in a pond with a beach and use the boat as a tiki bar. Apparently, those plans never materialized and the adjacent restaurant is now known simply as the "Riverboat Saloon". For more, see their website.

Ship Ashore
Smith River, CA
The Ship Ashore gift shop is a real ship adapted for use on land. This 156 foot long ship was built in 1925 as a private yacht. In 1941, it served in the Navy as the USS Garnet. There is also a small museum inside the ship with WWII artifacts, items relating to local history, etc. For more, see their website.

More Ship-shaped Buildings:
USS Neversail: 1, 2, 3 (San Diego, CA)
Duffy's Electric (Sunset Beach, CA)
Holiday Casino (Las Vegas, NV) [gone]
Showboat Casino: 1, 2 (Las Vegas, NV) [gone]

For more ships, see my Ship Restaurants section.

Ships
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