The Shuttered Restaurant Flotilla of Covington
The Ohio River is the lifeblood from which Cincinnati was born. At one point in time, it was littered with steam boats and paddle wheels bound to head west. Even today, it's still a major shipping channel for freight barges. On the shores of Northern Kentucky, where the view of the Cincinnati skyline is a preeminent feature, floating restaurants and attractions took the place of steam boats.
But in Covington, there's a fleet of shuttered vessels that aren't currently serving any customers.
The "Ghost Ship"
The slow, choppy waters erratically splash up against the obstruction, banging an offbeat rhythm onto an island of rusted steel. As the Ohio River flows toward the Mississippi, its waters make their way through the American Midwest. Roughly 25 miles downstream from Cincinnati, some of the water diverts to a gap on the southern shore into a creek and up against a ship that seems to have docked for the last time. It's a vessel that fought in two World Wars, served as a yacht, set the scene in a pop star's music video, carried one of the world's greatest minds, and shuttled tourists around the nation's largest city - all before it found itself left to be forgotten by time and history in the murky waters.