St Louis Arch and Admiral 2011
by Peggy Franz
Title
St Louis Arch and Admiral 2011
Artist
Peggy Franz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This picture is of the Admiral just before they took it away for scrap metal.
The Admiral became a fixture on the St. Louis riverfront in 1940, when the owner, Streckfus Steamers, completed the boat's sleek, million-dollar Art Deco skin and put the boat to work on the Mississippi. Built on the hull of a car ferry, the 375-foot Admiral could carry 4,000 people and was perhaps St. Louis' most recognized attraction before the Gateway Arch was built in the 1960s.
Hull weakness discovered by the Coast Guard in 1979 ended the Admiral's cruising days. Streckfus sold the Admiral to a Pittsburgh businessman who removed its diesel engines and announced a plan to move the boat there. He later sold it to St. Louis interests that reopened it in 1987 as an entertainment center run by Six Flags Corp. It flopped.
Reconfigured as the President Casino in 1994, the Admiral was again busy for a few years. Disputes in 2010 between the owner, Pinnacle Entertainment, and Missouri gaming officials over the President's declining revenue led to the company's decision to surrender the casino's state license, remove the gaming equipment and sell the Admiral to a new company, St. Louis Marine.
After an attempt to auction the boat failed, St. Louis Marine decided to scrap the vessel. But persistently high water on the Mississippi since April frustrated efforts to move the Admiral to a scrap yard.
RIP THE ADMIRAL JULY 20TH 2011
I really do miss that Boat. I had so much fun dancing to Bob Kuban when I was a kid.
Uploaded
November 28th, 2012
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