Superior Seeks Changes To National Designation For SS Meteor

Officials with Superior Public Museums are working with state officials to make changes to the historic status of the city’s whaleback ship. Museum officials hope the ship will eventually be recognized as a national historic landmark. The SS Meteor is the sole surviving ship in the nation with the whaleback design.

The SS Meteor is the only surviving whaleback ship above water in the nation, according to Sara Blanck, executive director of Superior Public Museums. Blanck said the SS Meteor is already listed on the state and national register of historic places.

“It sort of was the piece in the puzzle that helped the industrial revolution and the way that we transported steel and how we carried goods on the Great Lakes,” she said. “It also plays a part in the evolution of shipbuilding. Back when they built the whaleback in the 1890s, they didn’t yet know how to build ships like they do today. They hadn’t quite figured out that engineering, and our whaleback is a part of that evolution.”

Blanck said they’re making an amendment with officials at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

“Our amendment to the register is going to be reviewed at the end of next week by the Wisconsin Historical Society,” she said. “We’re looking forward to our review and we don’t anticipate any problems with the updates to that registration.”

She said the review is important because they would like to see the ship designated as a national historic landmark at the federal level. The National Park Service determines which sites can be nominated as national historic landmarks based on criteria that include the site’s role in the development of the nation, according to Blanck.

“Because of the ship’s role in the development of the iron ore trade and the evolution of shipping, we believe that it meets the criteria to become a national historic landmark,” she said.

If the SS Meteor does receive designation as a national historic landmark, it would be the first property listed as such in northern Wisconsin.

Correction: A previous version of this story said that Superior Public Museums was looking to designate the whaleback ship to the National Register of Historic Places, which is inaccurate. The ship is already listed on the national register, but museum officials are seeking changes to designate the ship as a national historic landmark. WPR regrets the error.