The anchor of a once-mighty Great Lakes steamship is back above water for the first time in six decades. Crews raised the Greater Detroit’s anchor, all 6,000 pounds of it, on Tuesday. Three divers from the Great Lakes Maritime Institute braved the 47-degree water temperature, descending 20 feet to the bottom of the Detroit River and attaching cables to the massive hunk of metal. A barge fitted with a crane then hauled it
up. Once cleaned and restored, the anchor will be displayed at the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority downtown. After commercial airline travel and modern freeways ended the usefulness of luxury steamships, the 536-foot Greater Detroit was scrapped and its anchor cut.
The sidewheel steamer was towed to Lake St. Clair where it was burned in 1956 prior to being scrapped.
