Scope and Contents: This collection contains photographs and correspondence related to the Viking Ship in Chicago, Illinois. There is a cd of images scanned from the collection.
The Viking Ship is an exact replica of the Gokstad ship and was featured at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. After the Exposition, the ship was first located beside the Field Columbian Museum (now the Museum of Science and Industry) in Chicago, then restored in 1919 and placed in Lincoln Park under a fenced-in, wooden shelter. In 1993 the Chicago Park District needed to move the ship to make room for expansion of the LIncoln Park Zoo. Funds were raised and in 1994 the ship was moved into a warehouse in West Chicago. Afterwards it was moved to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois, and secured under a canopy. The head and tail of the ship are in storage at the Musuem of Science and Industry in Chicago.