Island Queen Advertisement
Island Queen Advertisement
The Steamship Authority was created in 1946 to guarantee reliable passenger, vehicle, and freight service to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The legislation that created the SSA granted it a monopoly on vehicle and freight transportation, in order to ensure that it would make a sufficient profit during the high-traffic summer months to cover its inevitable operating deficits in the low-traffic winter months.
The legislation, however, gave the SSA the option of licensing seasonal, scheduled ferry services that would carry only passengers and their personal baggage, not vehicles or heavy freight. This option created a business opportunity for vessels collectively known as “excursion boats,” like the Kateri-Tek, the Nautican, and the Island Commuter Corporation’s Island Queen. Despite the company name, it (like the other excursion-boat operators) overwhelmingly served day-tripping tourists rather than commuters.The company’s first vessel, the Vineyard Queen, began operations from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs in the early 1960s, docking along the newly installed bulkhead at the head of Oak Bluffs Harbor. It was replaced, after a few years, by the first Island Queen, shown here. The current Island Queen entered service in 1974, making it the longest-serving excursion boat on the Vineyard run.
DETAILS
| Artist | The Island Commuter |
|---|---|
| Date | 1968 |
| Type | Advertisement |
| Ref No | RU 131 |
| Thematic Collection | 100 Years, 100 Stories: Getting Here |