Viking Ship - Geneva, IL - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

The Viking Ship was built in Norway in 1892, an exact replica of the c. 880 Gokstad Viking ship, and undertook a perilous journey across the north Atlantic, making its way through the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes to arrive in Chicago for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. It was a major attraction at the World’s Fair, partly because of its amazing journey and in part because it was a remarkable emblem of the sailing skills and technology of early Vikings. After spending seven decades in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, where it was largely ignored (except by me because I used to go see it from time to time as a kid), the Viking headed to West Chicago for an overhaul in 1992 and ended up at Good Templar Park two years later.

A number of websites feature this ship and project:
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If you would like to help with the restoration:
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They report that:
"The Viking is approximately 78 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 6.5 feet high from the bottom of the keel to the gunwale. Clinker built, its planks are fastened together with thousands of iron rivets. At sea, the Viking averaged 10 knots and the hull was observed to flex with the waves."

From (visit link)
"In 1925 to publicize and promote the Norse American Centennial in St. Paul a set of two stamps was issued, one of them bearing a picture based on the Gokstad replica, “Viking.” taken from a photograph. The engravers even included the American flag waving from the bow, as it was on the replica."

TITLE: Viking Ship ARTIST(S): listed as unk - Captain Magnus Andersen was probable DATE: Before 1893. MEDIUM: Wood CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 87580166 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: In Good Templar Park 528 East Side Drive Geneva, IL Just north of the Illinois Prairie Path on East Side Drive, and just east of the Fox River. DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: The database still shows the ship as located in Lincoln Park. That's where I used to see it as a kid on the way to the zoo. It was moved to its present location in 1994.

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.

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Date Logged Log   04/21/2024 wildernessmama visited it 07/05/2015 Team gEco Friendly visited it

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