Lakeland Boating — July 2017

PHOTO COURTESY OF STURGEON BAY VISITORS CENTER

Sturgeon Bay was our home for nearly 10

years. Our daughter was born there; we kept

our first boat at SkipperBud’s, right in the

shadow of the historic Michigan Street Bridge;

and I launched my independent writing career

in our 90-year-old house.

I had the opportunity to revisit my old

hometown this past year, and I realized that the

resourceful, hardworking place I came to love so

much has truly come into its own. Today, the city

nurtures an exploding food, art and music scene

and an astonishing array of cultural attractions —

all while staying connected to its unique roots.

Keepin th waterfron aliv

Those roots are firmly planted along the

waterfront. Lumber, farming and fishing

carried the day when settlers fi rst made their

homes here in the 1850s; however, when the

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal opened in 1882, a

new industry boomed.

Because the canal ensured easy access to

Lake Michigan and Green Bay, thousands of

ships no longer had to brave the treacherous,

unpredictable Port des Morts (Death’s Door)

passage around the peninsula’s tip. Incorporated

in 1883, Sturgeon Bay quickly became one of the

Great Lakes’ largest shipbuilding centers.

Storied names include Sturgeon Bay Boat

Works, founded in 1918 and later known

as Palmer Johnson (PJ); Sturgeon Bay

Shipbuilding; Leathem D. Smith, renamed

Christy Corporation in 1948; and Peterson Boat

Works, later Peterson Builders. These companies

may be gone today, but their legacies endure.

Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding, Leathem

D. Smith and Christy Corp. collectively

became Bay Shipbuilding — owned by Italian

shipbuilder Fincantieri since 2008 — and the

company aff ectionately known as Bay Ship

remains the largest shipyard in the Great

Lakes. Its massive East Side facility is always

overfl owing, with visiting boat nerds and locals

alike constantly pausing to see who’s in port.

Business is going so well that the company

has been able to take over Palmer Johnson’s

buildings, left vacant when the venerable

megayacht builder moved operations to Europe

in late 2015. Although Sturgeon Bay felt PJ’s loss

keenly, Bay Ship stepped in to fi ll the gap.

“They shut down First Avenue between the

two properties and expanded their services,”

explains Pam Seiler, executive director at

Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center. “They also purchased

the old train depot, which has such historic

signifi cance. We’re grateful they’re saving it.”

Bay Ship is indeed going strong, according

to Mark Felhofer, who co-owns local yacht

dealership Bay Marine. Felhofer was born and

raised in Sturgeon Bay. He and his brother,

Green Bay

STURGEON

BAY

Green Bay

Marinette

Lake Michigan

Bay Shipbuilding Dry Dock

56 JULY 2017 | LAKELANDBOATING.COM

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