Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== Circumnavigation of Manhattan became possible in 1905 with the construction of the [[Harlem Ship Canal]], the first regularly scheduled trip being the ''Tourist'' captained by John Roberts in 1908. On June 15, 1945, Frank Barry, Joe Moran and other partners merged several companies to form '''Circle-Line Sightseeing Yachts''', offering boat tours of New York operating out of [[Battery Park]]. [[File:CIRCLE LINE FERRY CARRIES TOURISTS TO STATUE OF LIBERTY IN UPPER NEW YORK BAY - NARA - 547838.jpg|thumb|left|''Miss Liberty'', 1973. Photo by [[Arthur Tress]].]][[File:Circle Line Logo.jpg|thumb|Old Circle Line Sightseeing Logo]][[Image:Hamilton Br Circle Line boat jeh.JPG|thumb|right|The ''Circle Line XVII'' touring the [[Harlem River]]]] In June 1954 Circle Line took delivery of [[Miss Liberty]] a new 460-ton excursion steamer. The three-deck vessel could carry up to 750 passengers. Veteran captain George Clancy was skipper of the boat for many years and although he spent decades with the sightseeing company, and made more than 40,000 trips between lower Manhattan and Bledsoe's Island, he never went inside the statue.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Hal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/staten-island-advance-skipper-guides-10/172245902/ |title=Skipper Guides 10 Million to Visit Miss Liberty - - But Not Himself |work=Staten Island Advance |agency=Associated Press |date=July 2, 1964 |page=5 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> ''Miss Liberty'' was acquired by Circle Line because of growing popularity of [[The Statue of Liberty]] as a tourist destination. It was the first excursion steamer of its type to be built in the United States since 1929.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Hal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-miss-l/172246513/ |title='Miss Liberty's' Skipper |work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen |date=June 25, 1954 |page=10 |access-date=May 12, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1955, it began operating at Pier 83 in Midtown.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beckerman |first=Jim |date=July 27, 2011 |title=Around Manhattan on the Circle Line |work=The Record |location=Bergen County, NJ |page=F1 |id={{ProQuest|879432546}}}}</ref> In 1962, it bought the famous and venerable [[Hudson River Day Line]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hudson Day Line Bought By Circle |first=Horne |last=George |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0C11F7345C137A93C4A9178BD95F468685F9 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 6, 1962 |page=50 |accessdate=July 10, 2010}}</ref> The steamboats of the Hudson River Day Line remained in operation under Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises until 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/the-hudson-river-day-line-1863-1971|title=The Hudson River Day Line - 1863-1971|author=[[Hudson River Maritime Museum]] staff|work=Hudson River Maritime Museum|accessdate=June 15, 2023}}</ref> [[File:Circleline-fireworks.jpg|thumb|right|Fireworks at Pier 83 in 2006.]] In 1981, the Circle Line split into two companies—Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises and [[Circle Line Downtown]]. In 1988, the company bought World Yacht's operating upscale dining cruises from [[Chelsea Piers]] - currently World Yacht Dining Cruises. In 1998, the 42nd Street company also launched The Beast, a speedboat ride which takes tourists around the [[Statue of Liberty]] and goes 45 mph. In 2007, the [[United States National Park Service]] said it was going to terminate Circle Line Liberty franchise and give a 10-year contract to [[Hornblower Cruises]] which provides service to [[Alcatraz]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Circle Line Loses Pact for Ferries to Liberty Island |first=Anthony |last=Ramirez |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/nyregion/29ferry.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2007 |accessdate=February 7, 2010}}</ref> It was noted in the announcement that since 1953 Circle Line had transported 70 million people to Liberty Island. Among the items cited in the transfer was a newer fleet (although Hornblower would have to buy the Circle Line boats) and the possibility of new service to [[Gateway National Recreation Area]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on December 8, 2007, that the price of the Circle Line boats to be sold to Hornblower was in arbitration, forcing Hornblower to bring in new boats.<ref>{{cite news |title=Crossing a Continent by Water to Another City by the Bay |first=Patrick |last=McGeehan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/nyregion/08ferry.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 8, 2007 |accessdate=February 7, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, Circle Line took delivery of the third of three new vessels constructed by [[Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding]] in [[Somerset, Massachusetts]]. In January 2017, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises purchased [[New York Water Taxi]]—among the assets acquired was the latter company's Circle Line Downtown brand, reuniting both Circle Lines under one owner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=24714:circle-line-owner-hops-on-new-york-water-taxi&Itemid=226|title=Circle Line owner hops on New York Water Taxi |publisher=Marine Log|date=January 12, 2017|accessdate=January 13, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114182455/http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=24714:circle-line-owner-hops-on-new-york-water-taxi&Itemid=226|archive-date=January 14, 2017}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)