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But it all ended Tuesday when a large tractor pulled up to her starboard rail and began ripping the rusty vessel apart.
"The Coast won't be the same," said Gayle Wiemers, a local who was around when the boat was first beached. "She had survived two major hurricanes and now it's sad that she's being pulled down by man's hands."
A crowd gathered Tuesday morning to snap some final photos and say "farewell" to Camille. She was dismantled following a champagne toast from her owner, Lucille Moody, and a few friends.
"It is kind of sad, but I have no other choice," Moody said. "So we're toasting her goodbye."
City Hall sent Moody a letter last month warning that if the property was not cleaned in 30 days, the city would demolish what was left of the 72-foot tugboat, clean the land and send Moody the bill.
Moody hardly had the funds needed to demolish Camille, so a pipe company, Design Precast, offered to help remove the landmark for free.
The hurricane pushed the tugboat ashore in August 1969 and Moody eventually opened a gift shop on the property, using the old boat to lure customers.
Venessa Clarke worked in the gift shop as a teenager and her husband put a fresh coat of paint on Camille once every few summers.
"I have a lot of memories here," she said. "It's sad, but I guess I understand why they have to get rid of it."
Moody was a young college student in 1969. Today, she is in her 60s and Katrina has changed everything.
"One hurricane put me in business and another took me out," she said. "If I was younger I'd probably start over, but I'm not young anymore."
The SS Camille stared down dozens of vicious storms and survived two of history's worst without a captain and crew.
For nearly four decades, Camille had taken everything Mother Nature could dish out, but across the street on this day there were no white caps, no squalls brewing in the Gulf. The water was calm and the breeze was gentle, almost as if the two foes had finally reached a truce.
Video: SS Hurricane Camille demolition