Topic starter
08/07/2008 3:33 pm
It was reported yesterday that demolition of the JULIUS C. WILKIE steamboat replica at Winona, Minnesota will begin this week. The replica, which replaced an earlier steamboat museum boat (formerly the steam towboat JAMES P. PEARSON) after it was destroyed by fire in 1981, has been the subject of controversy for the past couple of years.
Backhoes are to start wrecking the replica riverboat as early as Wednesday. The engines and sternwheel (from the PEARSON) will be removed and saved. A group of supporters are already at work on a plan to build a new, interactive steamboat museum.
Topic starter
10/07/2008 6:19 pm
UPDATE: The demolition began, as scheduled, on Wednesday. An illustrated article, as well as a video showing the removal of one of the steam engines (from the JAMES P. PEARSON) are contained on the website of The Winona Daily News at winonadailynews.com - Winona, Minnesota Newspaper, news, sports, weather, obituaries, autos, homes, jobs, tourism, events, photos and video.
An additional article, showing the "cabin" of the doomed steamboat replica is on The Winona Post, a bi-weekly newspaper.
FURTHER UPDATE: The Winona Daily News website now contains a video of the complete demolition today. SAD!
Topic starter
10/07/2008 7:44 pm
UPDATE: The website of The Winona Daily News today contains an article and a video which shows the complete demolition of the doomed steamboat replica. Sad indeed!
An additional article, showing the cabin of the WILKIE, is contained on the site of a bi-weekly paper, The Winona Post.
10/07/2008 11:10 pm
Does anyone else think that the video sounds like bones being crushed? How sickening! Not only do people not care about preserving our river history, they're actively demolishing it.
11/07/2008 12:17 am
Here is the link to the video....saddest thing I have seen in recent times.
The end of the Wilkie (VIDEO) : Winona Daily News
Topic starter
11/07/2008 12:41 pm
Indeed, the sight and sounds of the WILKIE being wrecked are sad and sickening. Although it was not really a boat, it REPRESENTED steamboating and river history and ...there goes another one! More stories concerning the demise of the WILKIE are contained in today's issue of The Winona Daily News.
A civic minded group which values the river heritage of Winona is at work to establish a new riverboat / museum and they need all the support they can get. I recall from pleasant stops at Winona on the DELTA QUEEN in the 1970's that the museum aboard the original WILKIE contained some excellent steamboat models and artifacts, including relics from the steamer WAR EAGLE. Many of these items survived the 1981 fire, including the engines from the JAMES P. PEARSON (original WILKIE) and deserve to be displayed somewhere to remind future generations that cities like Winona exist BECAUSE of the river!
There's a place on the Winona newspaper website to post comments, as well as an e-mail address to send letters to the editor!
Topic starter
11/07/2008 5:32 pm
MORE WILKIE DEMOLITION video footage is available at kstp.com - MORE NEWS and at KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports -Home. One of the videos includes a tour of the interior just minutes before the wrecking began. Go to Google and type in WILKIE STEAMBOAT DEMOLITION and you'll find all sorts of articles, dating back several years!
14/07/2008 4:18 pm
End of the WILKIE
Keith Norrington;11415 wrote: It was reported yesterday that demolition of the JULIUS C. WILKIE steamboat replica at Winona, Minnesota will begin this week. The replica, which replaced an earlier steamboat museum boat (formerly the steam towboat JAMES P. PEARSON) after it was destroyed by fire in 1981, has been the subject of controversy for the past couple of years.
Backhoes are to start wrecking the replica riverboat as early as Wednesday. The engines and sternwheel (from the PEARSON) will be removed and saved. A group of supporters are already at work on a plan to build a new, interactive steamboat museum.
Most of the local media has had video of the wrecking party. Not much of a steamboat, but still a loss. I understand that they did remove the engines, which were in really good condition, having been completely re-furbished after the last boat burned. We had the CLYDE. in Winona for "Steamboat Days" but there wasn't a whole lot of connection between "Steamboat Days" and the river.......most all events were as far from the river as possible.
A number of people have suggested in the local paper, that the city of Winona should take the steamboat off the city logo and replace it with something more appropriate .............such as a wrecking ball.