| Print | Close Window | AMO Currents - Posted: February 26, 2016 |
Car ferry Badger designated national historic landmark
WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior today announced the designation of the SS Badger (Car Ferry) as a National Historic Landmark. The designation recognizes the Badger's exceptional value and quality in illustrating an aspect of American transportation technology in the mid-twentieth century.
The SS Badger is the last remaining example of the Great Lakes rail/car ferry design that influenced the design of such ferries around the world. The first open-water crossing on which railcars were carried onboard occurred on Lake Michigan. For nearly a century, railroad car ferries extended rail lines across three of the Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan. During that period the difficulty of arranging trackage rights on roads, the distance around the southern end of the lake, and congestion in the rail yards at Chicago all made the transport of railcars across the lake a more efficient and economical alternative.
"The SS Badger is a unique example of American ingenuity in transportation that has been crucial to our country's economic development over the last century," said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis. "As the National Park Service celebrates its centennial anniversary, we look forward to a second century of helping preserve the more than 2,500 historic places and objects like the Badger that bear the distinction of being National Historic Landmarks."
National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are historic resources that illustrate the heritage of the United States. NHLs come in many forms: historic buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts. Each NHL represents an outstanding aspect of American history and culture.
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