Part of Tall Stacks Celebration
The Mike Fink originally was called the John W. Hubbard, a sternwheeler built in 1936 to tow oil barges. It carried the roof bell and whistle from the packet Queen City. It was sold in 1947 and renamed the Charles Dorrance in 1950. It was decommissioned in 1957 and sold to Point Towing Co. who used her as a harborboat at Kanauga, Ohio. In 1959 it was again sold to Todd Marine Service in Cincinnati. In 1967 it was purchased by Captain John Beatty who converted it into the restaurant "Mike Fink" which operated at Cincinnati's Public Landing that year. It was forced to move to Covington later that year due to the construction of Riverfront Stadium. It was a popular dining spot for the next 10 years. It was almost sold and moved to New Orleans when local restaurateur Ben Bernstein bought it and reopened it in 1977. The Bernstein Family completely refurbished the restaurant in 1978. On Valentine's Day 2008 the doors were closed for needed hull repairs. Moved to dry dock in South Point, Ohio where it received a new $500,000 steel hull. In preparation for a new $1.5 million projected renovation, it was gutted. The recession scuttled these plans. Since then many plans have been tried and have failed (including plans to improve the riverbank area.) The boat which was returned to Covington unfinished is now being told it has to move from Covington by the end of the year (2013). Its future is uncertain.
The two cards above are not Continental cards, they are the smaller
earlier chrome cards. I added them here just to keep them together with their
larger kin. This boat was placed on the National
Historic Register of Buildings and Places in 1981.
B. B. Riverboats
Becky
Thatcher
Betty
Blake
Mark
Twain
The 1st two cards above is of the BB Cincinnati/Covington Fun Liner. This boat was known as the Chaperone of Johnson Party Boats until May of 1985 when she became part of the BB fleet. She was originally built as a towboat for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the "Sutter." Today she is now propelled by the motor vessel Captain Ben.
River Queen
Belle of Cincinnati
Barleycorn's
Barleycorn's was originally known as the Newport Yacht Club started in the 1960's. This boat was originally a tow boat called the Neville and was added to the Yacht Club structure in 1971. In 1984 it was purchased by the current owner of the Barleycorn's chain of 3 other restaurants. This boat was shut down and moved in Sept. 2000 due to legal problems with the city of Newport.
SERPENTINE WALL
SAWYER POINT
BICENTENNIAL COMMONS
FOR MORE
OF THESE CARDS 
