People have been trying for decades to save the replica Viking ship that sailed to Chicago for the 1893 World’s Fair.

And while there has been some progress on shoring up the Viking and preserving its wooden parts, the goal of finding a permanent home to save it remains. For 21 years, it has been covered by a thick plastic canopy at a private park in Geneva, but the boat can be viewed on tours and other events.

But that shelter isn’t enough, says a consultant hired by the Friends of the Viking Ship, which owns the 123-year-old oak vessel. It should be enclosed in a temperature- and humidity-controlled space by 2020 at the latest, said David Nordin of Naperville, former vice president of the Friends.

“The urgency involved ... is because it has been out of the water for 123 years,” Nordin said. “It is an antique vessel.” In fact, the ship is the oldest replica Viking ship in the world.

The committee has explored options with many entities, he said, including Chicago-based museums such as the Chicago Maritime Museum.

Two major concerns: The size of the ship, at 78 feet long, would likely make it the largest maritime artifact in any such museum with the exception of the U-505 submarine at the Museum of Science and Industry. The second concern is the health of whatever museum organization or facility to which it is moved. Because the next move should be the last one for the fragile ship, Nordin says.

Tale of the Viking

1893: Norwegians make and sail the Viking, a replica of the ancient Gokstad, across the Atlantic Ocean to Newfoundland. The 12-man crew then takes it down the Hudson River to the Erie Canal and over the Great Lakes to the Jackson Park lagoon in Chicago for the Columbian Exposition World’s Fair. They did so to show the world Scandinavians were able to sail to North America more than 500 years before Italian Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas.

After the fair: The Viking is displayed outside the original Field Museum (now the Museum of Science and Industry.) Then it travels the Chicago River to the Bridgeport neighborhood, on to the Illinois and Michigan Canal to LaSalle, then the Illinois River, then the Mississippi River to New Orleans. And then it’s towed back to Chicago.

1919: The ship is turned over the Lincoln Park Commission and moved to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

1934: The Chicago Park District absorbs the Lincoln Park Commission.

Date unknown: The plaster figurehead and tail are removed and stored in the Museum of Science and Industry.

1990s: The park district sells it to the American Scandinavian Council for $1, with the provision that if the group goes out of business, ownership reverts to the district. The ship is moved to a warehouse in West Chicago.

1995: The ship moves to Good Templar Park in Geneva. The private park is owned by the Good Templars, a fraternal temperance organization.

2001: Ownership reverts to the Chicago Park District.

2007: An ad hoc group of preservationists and Norwegian-culture enthusiasts win $52,000 in a contest for preservation work, including putting it under an enclosed canopy and shoring supports.

2012: Friends of the Viking Ship receives ownership from the Chicago Park District.

2015: More supports are installed, to prevent sagging.

Mast raised, oars out

The Friends of the Viking Ship want to find a climate-controlled space to house the ship. It would like one big enough to display it with the mast fully raised and the oars extended, and be reunited with its figurehead and tail.

In 2012, the Chicago Park District estimated the cost of renovating, moving and exhibiting the ship at $3.2 million.

In the meantime, the group conducts monthly tours for the public during warm weather, shows the ship during the annual Swedish Day celebration at the park in June and gives private tours.