A question about the Robert E Lee...

Ed, I'm guessing that refers to the Lt. Robert E. Lee, a boat that had been used as a restaurant in St. Louis. That boat burned; I can't remember if it was 2012 or 2011. No replica of teh racer ROBT. E. LEE to my knowledge (notice the difference in teh spelling of the names).

Ed,

sometimes it´s a good idea to check the main site on here 😉 (although I have to admit that much information is outdated).

Carmen

The Restaurant boat Lt. R E LEE, was built on the hull of the Charles H. West. It was being refurbished at the time of the fire in 2011.

The Lt. Robert E. Lee was named in honor of the young surveyor who did work on the St. Louis levee before he became a famous general. The racer ROBT. E. LEE, was built at New Albany, Indiana in 1866 and dismantled in 1876 when the Howard Shipyard built her successor. There were other boats which shared the name, including one built for the president of Lee Line Steamers, of Memphis.

As Capt. Jim said, the restaurant boat was built, at Greenville, Mississippi, on the hull of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers snagboat CHARLES H. WEST and was long operated by a corporation headed by Fred H. Leyhe, son of Capt. W.H. "Buck" Leyhe, of the Eagle Packet Company and Eagle Boat Store. One of my recent old boat columns in The Waterways Journal focused on the LEE and the three chandeliers from her cabin which now adorn the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church at Port Gibson, Mississippi.

Restaurant boats, built from the same plans, and named REUBEN E. LEE, operated at Newport Beach and San Diego, California. Both were demolished in recent times. The Lt. Robert E. Lee opened at St. Louis in early 1970 and closed about 1993, before being sold to new owners, who took her down to Kimmswick, MO for a time. Returning to St. Louis, the boat was undergoing major renovation to become a restaurant at St. Charles and was almost ready when the spectacular fire destroyed it in March, 2010. Ironically, just several weeks prior, the BECKY THATCHER (formerly the Str. MISSISSIPPI and long a "neighbor" on the St. Louis waterfront of the LEE) sank at Pittsburgh and was scrapped.

Keith...great photos...but gut-wrenching...I was crossing the McKinley bridge hours before the fatal fire..ugh!

That is one reason I don't like wikipedia

The description led me to believe there was a boat that was a copy of the Robert E Lee steamboat. I knew I had not heard of anything like that so I had to ask.
Thanks for the information it is always the best.
Ed