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Karl R. Josker | all galleries >> Buffalo >> Crystal Beach > Canadiana Corpse
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Karl R. Josker

Canadiana Corpse

She is now gone, cut up for scrap in April 2004. For a few photos of her final days, see http://www.pbase.com/kjosker/canadiana


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dburns 01-Jul-2009 21:08
Wow! thanks for the photos....lots of memories. 65 yrs now but I always remember the .10 cent bus ride in Buffalo to downtown at 6yrs of age and then off to the boat dock to get on that huge boat heading towards Crystal Beach.
People at Crystal Beach would be swimming as we observed from the deck.
There was always so much excitment in the eyes of anxious kids awaiting to get off the boat and head for the park entrance
Yes Loganberry, hot dogs and those tasty vinegar fries, cotton candy; what else could a 6yr old ask for!
As Archie would say "Those Were the Days."
Catherine 25-Sep-2008 18:30
I herd the top part of the boat where the captins room was is restored and at Buffalo State College with the engine I'm not for sure if this is true I would love to know my family member have very fond memories of the park and the Canadiana.
Edward George 27-Oct-2007 15:08
One day in mid-Lake Erie, a windblown rain started drenching one side of the Canadiana. Naturally all the passangers on that side hopped over to the other, causing the ship to list! Half the people scurried back, preferring to get wet rather than capsize.

They would let you visit the ship's engine room and -- from a catwalk, I think -- observe the giant pistons at work.

Crystal Beach gave me a taste for vinegar on my french fries.

Thanks for making this visit back in time possible. I was born in 1937.
Nancy Taylor 28-Sep-2007 18:06
I remember the days...my dad(now deceased) riding the COMET and him holding on to his sunglasses so tight the lenses popped out. My mom would atke the younger ones to Kiddie Land and we had to meet at a certain time at a predetermined place. As I grew older I remember Tonawanda's Day...picked up by bus in the morning and dropped off at night...wonderful memories of my childhood.
mario gugino 08-Aug-2007 19:16
How could the people let this happen too the canadiana. It had so many memories It should have been a restored and everyone could have seen it again. Thats a shame
Holly (Wyse) Russ, Borsuk 05-Aug-2007 20:08
This was so much a part of our lives. Seeing these pictures is like seeing an old friend. I took my daughter there the second last day Crystal Beach was open. We were able to ride the Comet endlessly. Although I never did ride it backward! It was great and to this day I miss it.
Rene' Castillon 21-Jun-2006 02:40
Thank yo uso much for having these pictures for us to see. My 78 yearl old mother, Joan Roman, often talks about the Canadiana and how much fun she and my dad, Tony Roman, had on it in their younger years. Wish I could have experienced it.........
Joseph Burd, Crystal Beach 15-Apr-2006 07:58
A police escort followed by a tractor trailer hauls down Highway 3 from Port Colborne towards Buffalo a large engine of some kind. My dad tells me he saw this huge event take place in front of his home. What is it they all said, looks like an engine from something, not sure. On the news that night, they discover that it was the large engine that is from the Canadiana that was in Port Colborne for a long time sitting and fading away. My dad said that the engine from the Canadiana is heading to Buffalo somewhere acording to the news cast, to go to a museum. About time something was done with this boat other than letting everything sit and rot. I am glad some things were salvaged. Way to go someone!! I see at the Palmwood park area in Crystal Beach holds the old propeller and some other artifax, very nice display.
Tony Ralabate 18-Jul-2005 16:31
Karl, thanks for the memories ,i just found out my wife has cancer, but for a few minutes i was a kid again not a thing to worry about, thank's again & to dave nieman for sending me this E-Mail, thank's dave.
Jason 27-Jun-2005 02:51
I believe it was taken apart in Port Colbrone, Ontario. I could be wrong. If it is Port Colborne then it's about 5 - 6 miles from where Crystal Beach Amusement Park was.
Paul Stafford 16-May-2004 18:37
The old Queen is a lot larger and majestic in my memory dating back to the late 50's.
mary ann 10-Apr-2004 14:32
I think that I saw the Americana in Cleveland, OH 27 years ago.
Rita Badgley 24-Mar-2004 21:52
The crystal beach boat remains at the site of this picture. By the canal locks in Port Colburne, down Ramsy Bend. But as of 3/21/04, the uppermost part of the boat in this picture is gone, just that lower deck remains. This is looking at the 'good' side. The other side is just about at water level. Hurry if you want to see it---but know what you're looking for, because you would never recognize her now! !
Guest 20-Mar-2004 08:00
I don't know her final resting place, but I was there when they towed her back from Ohio. They docked it in the old Bell Aircraft Port (remember the hydroskimmer?)on what I believe was Furhman Blvd. A group of amature preservations were going to restore her. They began to strip her down for refit, but the group split into factions as to it's level of restoration. Some wanted to refit her for sea and others wanted her to be docked as a museum. Coast Guard regs mandated significant upgrades, and her stint on the bottom of the river in Ohio caused more damage than anticipated. They towed her to a shipyard in Canada for some permenent hull patching, stripped the wheel house off of her, but they finally ran out of funds and enthusisiam.
Bob Higgins 17-Mar-2004 01:07
Where is the Crystal Beach boat now??