Ferry is headed to scrap heap
Above: The Mary Murray. Photo via jag9889.
After decades on the Raritan River, the old Staten Island ferry known as the Mary Murray is reportedly being dismantled and turned into scrap metal.
The work began about a month ago, according to the Home News Tribune and Staten Island Advance.
George Searle won the Mary Murray at auction after it was decommissioned. Starting in 1938, the steamer shuttled thousands of customers daily from Staten Island to New York.
Searle towed it up the Raritan River after he bought it. While he considered turning it into a floating restaurant, the boat became something of an eyesore and general landmark (visible from the Turnpike) instead.
Environmentalists and the state Department of Environmental Protection have said the rusting steamer, which contains asbestos, is a hazard.
Click here for a photo/text tour of the ship by Marie Lorenz, Lex Pelger and Sam Herzlinger.
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