Built in 1907, the ferry named Yankee has survived well over a century of daring adventures.
The charismatic 150-foot ship with four decks started her life transporting wealthy passengers around the coast of Massachusetts, going on to perform vital roles in both World Wars. In between conflicts, she took waves of immigrants from New York Harbor to the processing station at Ellis Island, and two decades later, went on to cater to Rhode Island vacationers.
Now, acquired by artists Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs in 2001, the last remaining Ellis Island ferryboat, affectionately known as Yankee, is enjoying her latest incarnation as an enigmatic home dwelling,
After substantial renovation, the boat now has no less than 5,000 square feet of fantastically designed living space, complete with 11 unique bedrooms. There’s even a bed in the engine room.
Today, she’s docked in Staten Island, New York City.
“I feel very honored to be a steward of the ship,” Ms. Mackenzie-Childs told The Epoch Times. “[It’s] a historic icon and landmark to the development of the Western world.”
For a period, the couple, who resided in New York’s Upper East Side, had a thriving design business specializing in decorative art objects. But when that enterprise fell on hard times, they were suddenly left with nothing.
The couple got talking to a friend about their idea, who went on to tell them he knew of a man who was selling a “big old ferryboat.” They wasted no time in going to see it and committed to buying it almost straightaway, intending to make it their art studio.
Since it had been used as a party boat, Yankee was in significant disrepair. However, as sculptors accustomed to working with all sorts of different materials, the project was just perfect for the creative couple.
Ms. Mackenzie-Childs shares that Yankee has had so many different jobs over the years and had sailed “the roughest seas.” During World War I, the ferryboat carried troops to the bigger ships that were heading off to Europe, and she did the same during World War II.
“She started doing all sorts of service, all over the Eastern Seaboard. She couldn’t just stay as a ferryboat because the leisure world and the seas of America were all put to a halt during those war years,” Ms. Mackenzie-Childs said in the video.
Soon, Ms. MacKenzie-Childs and her husband got to work on the enormous task of bringing the old ship back to life.
Ms. MacKenzie-Childs describes how, little by little, Yankee began to come back from the dead.
Savoring each original element of the ship, they focused on restoring and preserving her history. Throughout the magnificently restored vessel, examples of the couple’s fun, playful artistry and resourcefulness can be seen.
The main deck is a cacophony of practical tools and devices used on board, with stacks of old leather trunks adding to the old-world feel.
On the long passenger deck is an ornate dining table suspended on ropes and an original wood-burning stove for warmth. The deck has been transformed into a refined seating area, with a piano being one of the several attractions.
Down in the original crew quarters below deck, an authentic bunk bed still hangs on chains suspended from the roof. There are also hammocks, traditional bunk beds, and a comfortable double bed. Further small, cozy cabin bedrooms can be found below the deck.
The owner of an elaborate, colorful wardrobe, Ms. MacKenzie-Childs has her very own walk-in dressing room, in which she hangs garments and jewelry from the boat’s exposed steel pipes. Next door is a small sewing room, set up originally for flag repairs and other tasks. A designated ironing room contains a traditional clothes mangle.
The bedrooms feature wood paneling, white linens, and round portholes. A freestanding cast-iron bath adds a touch of luxury to an adjacent bathroom. Grand “state” bedrooms feature plush canopied beds and charming oil paintings.
The most opulent ferryboat in existence at the start of the 20th century, Yankee took the well-heeled and affluent from Portland, Maine, to the Calendar Islands, and later, from Boston to Pine Island.
Initially, the boat ran on coal but was later converted to diesel. The couple have, in the past, fired up their boat and say that hearing all the whistles blowing and the engine roaring is quite something.
In the control room, all the original elements still work. Guests gain a unique insight into the ship’s inner workings in the form of a bell-and-gong communication system and a hollow steel pipe used to pass emergency messages to the captain.
The walls of the cargo deck are covered in black-and-white photographs showcasing the ship’s proud past.
The cozy salon is the social hub; a large, comfortable space filled with an eclectic mix of antique furniture, candelabras, and globes of the earth. Cooking takes place in the main galley next door, which still holds the 1944 stove that was in place when the couple acquired the boat.
Mr. and Ms. MacKenzie-Childs, who have spent a lifetime salvaging and renovating the massive ship, find the term “artist” unhelpful. Believing that everybody has qualities of imagination, Ms. MacKenzie-Childs says it is regrettable the way art can appear exclusive, and artists are put up on a pedestal in today’s society.
“You know what I am? I’m artless,” she told The Epoch Times, with characteristic lightness of spirit. “That word may have some negative connotations, but it really means free from guile; free and childlike and open.”
She says the work on Yankee has never stopped, and the ship is “always changing and evolving.”
