October 26, 2016
The oldest existing Ellis Island ferry could be your quirky home for $1.25M
For those who prefer the water to the actual city, here's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The MacKenzie-Childs Yankee Ferry is up for sale and could actually be your next home. Built in 1907, the ferry served in World War One before it was acquired in 1921 by U.S. immigration services to serve as the Ellis Island Ferry until 1929--it is now the oldest existing Ellis Island ferry still on the water. It sold again in 1929 for use as a tour boat, served in World War Two, and then finally sold to a private owner in 1990 who began a restoration. In 2003, the ferry ended up with its latest owners, Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs, who founded the design firm MacKenzie-Childs in 1983. The couple moved it to Pier 25 in Hoboken, New Jersey to continue an oddball restoration that's brimming with personality. It is now outfitted as a bona-fide house boat, and for $1.25 million you could be part of the ferry's incredible history.
You have to see inside this boat
You have to see inside this boat
