Former Hornblower’s barge lands at new home in Cleveland Metroparks’ Wildwood Marina (Video, photo gallery)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The barge that once housed the Hornblower’s floating restaurant in downtown Cleveland docked at its new home Friday at Wildwood Marina in Cleveland Metroparks’ Euclid Creek Reservation.

Crowds gathered at the Metroparks property to watch the towering, multi-story barge complete the voyage from its former home near Burke Lakefront Airport. It was towed out of downtown around 9 a.m. and took roughly five hours to complete the journey across Cleveland’s East Side lakefront.

Crews meticulously maneuvered the structure between breakwalls and finally set the barge down several feet from shore, near the park’s concession stand and shelter, where it was met by applause from bystanders.

Cleveland Metroparks’ hasn’t made any announcements about how it intends to use the barge within the park, which is also home to the only public swimming beach on Cleveland’s East Side. Onlookers on Friday speculated about its future, wondering if it might house a restaurant and bar, or perhaps museum displays.

Metroparks commissioners agreed in June to buy the barge for $1.3 million and relocate it to the Euclid Creek Reservation. The sale closed on July 6, and officials had been working since then on logistics to move the structure safely.

A Metroparks project developer, Andrew Stahlke, said the organization is still determining exactly what the barge will be used for.

“We’re really excited to share more in the future,” Stahlke told cleveland.com. “We see it as an important and unique way to access the lakefront.”

The barge dates back to 1892 and most notably was converted to house the Hornblower’s floating restaurant, which closed in 2006. LeanDog, a software company, began renting out the space in 2009, and eventually teamed up with Arras marketing to buy and renovate it.

In 2022, owners reached out to the Metroparks about the possibility of buying it. Officials at the park system conducted a preliminary assessment and determined it was in good enough condition to relocate. They also determined the barge was well-suited as a space for creative park programming and events, according to Metroparks records.