Poll: your thoughts on the future of the SS Admiral
At the end of next month the President Casino on the Admiral will close, leaving the future of the art deco boat unknown.
The SS Admiral has a long history on the St. Louis riverfront:
The hull of the Admiral once belonged to a side-wheel steamboat called the SS Albatross, built in 1907. The Albatross was built in Iowa and used to haul railroad cars at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Streckfus Steamers bought the ship in 1937, and gave it a completely new appearance, new function, and a new name. The designer was Maizie Krebs, a fashion illustrator for Famous-Barr department stores. It was converted from steam to Diesel in the 1970s. In it’s heyday, the Admiral was the largest river cruise ship in the world. It could carry 4,400 passengers. (source)
When I moved to St. Louis in August 1990 I was struck by the beauty of the SS Admiral, then located south of the Eads Bridge. I’d hate to see it go away but I don’t know if it has a place on the riverfront going forward.
Resources:
- Wikipedia
- Vintage pictures from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Thomas Kempland Collection (photos & history)
The poll this week tries to get at your feelings on the subject.
– Steve Patterson
all I know is that I had a great time on this boat many many times. but near the end they stopped letting us on there if we looked like we were having too much fun. one of st. louis' greatest downtown attractions
One potential answer is the Belle of Louisville model, where the city owns and operates the boat (http://www.belleoflouisville.org/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_of_Louisville). Yes, it's a money pit (like any other boat), but it's also a very real historic artifact that many voters see a value in preserving. The Admiral probably has limited value as a static display / casino / banquet hall, but probably a much brighter one if it were made “seaworthy” again. Unfortunately, the only way that will likely ever happen is with a taxpayer subsidy; I doubt anyone can figure out a viable business model in the private sector.
many SLU students enjoyed their orientation week with a trip on the Admiral. One of my fondest memories of moving to Saint Louis in 1973 to go to school here. Plus the smell of the hops when you were on the river and no one from outside of STLouis knew what the heck that smell was.
Sadly, it might just be time to let it go.
The push we need to do something new?
Well, that and I really don't think anyone would want to buy it. It's a money pit.
The boat is a dump. Good riddance. The city can do better with the space.
Why would you think that? The city has sat by doing NOTHING as we've lost riverboat after riverboat after riverboat. If the Admiral is removed from the riverfront, we'll just have more empty space…the city will do nothing.
Are you kidding? Like the original space on wharf street it occupied at the foot of Washington Avenue?
I've said as much in the past, but I'll say it again: cut it loose and send it downriver to a chop shop. For all the halcyon memories generations past have of the Admiral, it doesn't change the fact that it is – casino or no – an eyesore on what should be a prime piece of downtown riverfront.
I've hinted as much in the first part of my Mississippi Mile story, but in my perfect world, the removal of the Admiral would clear the way to split our ACTUAL river boats between the north and south riverfronts, encouraging tourists to travel further along Leonor K. Sullivan. I say 'actual' because for all the fond memories, the current ship bears no resemblance to a classic river vessel — even in its hey-day it looked like an ocean cruise ship that got way, way off course.
The only unfortunate thing is that, as far as I know, even after removing the ship, Pinnacle still owns the strip of land between third street and the river itself. Now that there are suits being filed, who knows when or if they'll develop that land or if they'd even be inclined to sell it for outside development.
And I guess the Arch looks like it belongs along the river as well. I say, Keep IT! It is a stunning work of modern art, which this city seems to want to destroy any chance they get. It could easily be turned into a party boat, pleasure cruse boat, ect… or if all else turn it over to Bob Cassilly's creative mind… Why destroy it??
Well, the Arch IS art…granted, it's huge and interactive, but it's still art. It's purpose is in its spectacle. I can't agree with you that the Admiral is art though. Its value is in its functionality and, well, a ship that does not cruise is not a ship. And i don't think anyone will be reinvesting enough in the Admiral to make it river-worthy again.
Sure, you could keep it docked, retrofit it to look the way it did, and try to recapture some of the innocent memories of your Admiral-hosted Sadie Hawkins dance and weekend trips downtown with the family, but it ISN'T the ship it was.
And it's not art. And it is, to the call-it-as-they-see-it eyes of the majority of people who haven't taken an advanced art appreciation class, ugly. And it certainly doesn't match the region/waterway. If it were something like the Mississippi Queen, I would LOVE to have it on our riverfront – even if it couldn't, by law, take passengers up and down the river anymore (I still think we missed a major opportunity when they retired the Queen last year. Heck, I would have liked to see the Casino Queen (minus the casino) back on the river, moving people up it, down it and across it.
You have a problem with Art Deco?
I think you are talking about the Delta Queen……?
Riverboats are not exclusively the Delta Queen style. Or do you want to bring back the floating McDonald's?
As far as I'm concerned, the Admiral is as much a part of St. Louis and the riverfront as the Arch. I haven't been on the boat in probably 30 years (I was away from St. Louis for most of the time), but I'd love to see it restored to its former, kitschy glory. Put in old pinball machines and arcade games, have a band that plays music from the 60's & 70's, travel down river for an hour and a half, turn around and come back — what's not to love?
I remember going to the Admiral in the late 70s when I was working at the Wilson Park swimming pool in Granite City. A bunch of us would go there on Sunday nights during the summer and have a great time. It was restricted to “shore parties” by then but still a great time. What I'd like to see is the boat remade into, say, a museum, if possible, saluting St. Louis' rich riverboat heritage or musical (blues, jazz, et.al.) heritage. If it can't, then I say have one last major-league blowout where the boat is located to give it the farewell it deserves.
It will be scrapped. The Mayor does not care for it. He said it was essentially a piece of shit at a certain meeting I attended during college. So unless preservationists can get it on the National Register or listed as a National Historic Landmark — and someone comes along with cash (plus the current owner does not block the nomination process and would sell) — then it will be gone within two years.
Quite a shame because the Admiral happens to be one of the most historic structures we have in our City (actually on the entire river, too) and would be a driver of economic development if it ever toured again. Private parties, weddings, a dance club, and tours during the day, the boat could be the definition of entertainment with class unlike the faux crap at Lumiere and River City.
We should champion it as a symbol of our past success rather than a joke. I don't understand St. Louisans. While our City certianly has a lot of poverty, plenty of us are still around who rode this thing and some of these people have a lot of money. If there was a campaign couldn't enough cash be raised? But who knows as we can't even get the hole in downtown occupied by any higher use than parking and a fenced off softball field!
Agree completely. And if Louisville, a much smaller city, can do it, there's no reason why we can't. We have much more of a river history than they do, and we should be celebrating it, not just letting it all float away. As for Art Deco, I like it.
We may also want to do a version of Tall Stacks here, where all the riverboats come together for one big celebration of the river, like they (used to?) do every three years in Cincinnati . . . http://www.steamboats.org/forum/river-talk-crui… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_Stacks
I've thought of the same thing, J. In particular, I would have liked to have seen this done for the All-Star week. For all the banners and the 'artsy' arches, it really was a poor showing for St. Louis. And the river – excepting the Sheryl Crow concert – was underutilized.
My idea was to do like you just said – put out an APB to small river runners, steamers, and sidewheels to converge on St. Louis. The city pays for their travel expenses, then takes their portion of any money made from river tours/dinners/parties, etc. In the meantime, you've got a bustling, boat-busy riverfront from the PSB to the Eads, or further and there's yet another thing for St. Louis to be proud of, show nationally, and continue to grow. And who knows, maybe some of those traveling ship's captains decide to stick around and continue to service the St. Louis riverfront.
Don't bother getting it registered as a National Landmark. The Delta Queen is and look what fate it has
Yah, the boat is a piece of dung NOW after the butcher job this group did on it. And to all those other people slamming the boat…..I'll bet not one of them ever cruised on it…..
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When the Admiral stopped doing excursions, St. Louis lost a large part of its identity. To me the Admiral was St. Louis. Why? Lots of towns had ML Baseball team, zoos, big universities, Cathedals, etc. But NO other town had a boat like the Admiral. It is too late to save it. After the butcher job these folks did on the boat, there is no coming back.