Gateway Clipper Fleet
Encyclopedia
John E. Connelly
John Edward Connelly founded the Gateway Clipper Fleet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pioneered riverboat casino gambling along the Mississippi River via his President Casinos empire, and founded a fleet of ships operating out of Chelsea Piers in New York City.-Early life:Connelly was born in...
is a Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
-based fleet of riverboat
Riverboat
A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...
s. The fleet cruises the three rivers of Pittsburgh- the Monongahela
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
, the Allegheny
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, and the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. The fleet is named after the city of Pittsburgh, which in earlier times was known as the "Gateway to the West"
http://www.wqed.org/erc/pghist/units/WPAhist/wpa3.shtml. The original riverboat was the Gateway Clipper, which set sail in 1958. By the mid-1960s, the fleet was composed of three craft, the Gateway Clipper, the Party Liner, and the Good Ship Lollipop. Today there are five watercraft in the fleet: the 1,000-passenger Majestic; the 600-passenger Empress (formerly known as the Party Liner); the 400-passenger Princess (formerly known as the Keystone Belle); the 300-passenger Duchess (formerly known as the Liberty Belle); and the 150-passenger Countess (formerly known as the Good Ship Lollipop, previously known as the City of Champions until 1982). The Party Liner is a barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
that is pushed by a towboat
Towboat
Not to be confused with the historic boat type with the same name, also called horse-drawn boat.A towboat is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. Towboats are characterized by a square bow with steel knees for pushing and powerful engines...
named the Empress II (formerly known as the Gateway Liner) http://www.gatewayclipper.com/about.asp.
The Gateway Clipper Fleet offers many types of cruises, from day trips for school groups to formal dinner cruises. Shuttle service to PNC Park
PNC Park
PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
and Heinz Field
Heinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
is available on days of Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, and Pitt Panthers home games. The fleet is believed to be the largest inland riverboat fleet in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The fleet formerly was moored at the Monongahela Wharf, but currently it is moored at Station Square
Station Square
Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
In 2008 the Gateway Clipper Fleet celebrated its 50th year of sailing on the Three Rivers.