Girl on the Bow of a Chris-Craft Cruiser, 1930s The Mariners' Museum Chris-Craft Collection PI 1303 |
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Girl on the Bow of a Chris-Craft Cruiser, 1930s The Mariners' Museum Chris-Craft Collection PI 1303 |
The story of Chris-Craft is more than the story of a man or a company or even of boats. It is a story of how dramatic changes in American society, economy, and technology came together to change our leisure habits forever. Americans fell in love with Chris-Crafts--with their rakish style and breathtaking speed, their exquisite craftsmanship and, most of all, their promise of the American dream. The story of Chris-Craft tells us much about the rapidly changing America of the 1920s and 1930s.Christopher Columbus Smith, founder of Chris-Craft, rose from humble beginnings to build a wildly successful company and create a new industry in the process. Smith understood his market--the growing middle class with disposable income and a strong yearning to move up in society. He applied new methods of mass production to the ancient craft of boat building, and used advertising to tantalize Americans with his promise. Perhaps most importantly, he constantly pushed for technological advances that would make his boats better, faster, but always affordable.
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