Shown here is the Michigan State Highway Auto Ferry THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC when it still had two vehicle decks. Originally, the forward end of the 2nd deck was used to haul autos and trucks which were lifted to the higher level by means of elevators on both the Mackinaw City and St. Ignace docks. The Mackinaw elevator was constructed of sturdy concrete but, if my memory serves me right, the St. Ignace elevator house was built of wood.
According to Captain John Wellington, a Mackinac Island native who now operates a Marine Salvage business at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the forward upper deck on THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC was removed at Cheboygan, Michigan in the winter of 1940-41 so that they could haul semi-trucks on the forward main deck. Previously, semis had to wait for space on the upper deck. The elevators, mentioned above, carried vehicles to the upper deck but as trucks became too big for the elevators, the top deck was cut away just a few feet forward from the pilot house. Thus, the entire bow section of the main deck was left open to accommodate large trucks.
This Mackinaw City view clearly shows the two story elevator house out on the end of the State Dock. After the Mackinac Bridge was constructed, the rather substantial cement structure was used to store freight awaiting shipment to Mackinac Island aboard the Arnold Line ferries that shared the old dock with Straits Transit. I can remember watching tall ice cream containers with their insulated jackets being moved out from the elevator house to be loaded aboard Island bound vessels. In the late 50's, an evergreen tree could even be seen growing out of the elevator house roof. This photo, probably snappped in the late 30's, shows one of the Mackinac Transportation Company's straight stacked rail ferries in the distance. According to Ed Brown, a prominent Great Lakes Historian, it is the SAINT MARIE which was often chartered by the State to carry autos whenever there were too many of them lined up for the State ferries, alone, to cope with.
In this view of the Mackinaw City dock you can easily see the 2nd deck on the bow end of THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC. The picture appeared on a postcard mailed in 1936 and printed by the Fort Wayne Printing Co. of Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is another item from the Patricia Andrews collection.
This photo, courtesy of the MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION and Mark Howell, shows the auto ferry CITY OF MUNISING docked in Mackinaw, City. It appears to be tied up in the berth usually occupied by the newest ferry of the fleet, the VACATIONLAND.
On the following page you can see more pictures of THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC while it was still operating as a Michigan State Auto Ferry.
Or if you'd rather do so, go back toTHE INDEX PAGE.
