SS ADMIRAL photos

More SS ADMIRAL pix

The first one is early '60s, pre-Arch. It looks like it must be the beginning of the season, with the fresh paint job on the decks and the crew putting up the umbrellas on the tables. This one certainly shows her broad width. The second one is from BelleRive sp? park, taken in 1943. The third one, which I took, shows the GOLDENROD and BECKY THATCHER below the ADMIRAL. This was taken on an historical occasion: my first trip on the DELTA QUEEN, Aug. 20, 1973 at 1 PM as we went under the Eads Bridge. It was a State Bank of East Moline charter so we left at 12:30, because that's when Dick Billings wanted to leave! Talk about a quick turnover day!

and even more ADMIRAL pix...

The first one is in her last dieselized days of 1978. The second shows one of the highly-publicized art deco ladies rooms, and the third I took in July 1961. I don't know who the calliopist is, but as Keith has pointed out, that was the CAPITOL's calliope....

Admiral Calliope?

OK, for the umpteenth time, but where is the calliope now? Is it still on the boat, but missing some whistles, or do I have that confused with President?

Wesley

Thanks, and more questions...

Thanks for the postings, Judy. Some on this board may not know that the Streckfus's tore down the ALBATROSS and built the ADMIRAL without going near an established shipyard, an amazing feat. Similar, in a way, to what Capt. Tom Meanley did when he built his boats, as we discussed on this board last month. The Streckfi did it on a MUCH larger scale, though!

One question I have concerning those powder rooms: With all that frou-frou and tassels on the stools, etc., what did that entail as far as cleaning went? Capt. Jim already said the men's rooms were utilitarian, and we all know how excursionists can trash the rest rooms (especially on teenage dance cruises and fraternity trips!), but did the ladies have more respect for their surroundings? I would think it would still have been a nightmare to clean.

Judy, your mention of Dick Billings brought back memories. For those on here who don't know, Dick Billings ran Tri-State Bank Travel Tours out of the bank of the same name in East Moline, IL for years. They had their own fleet of busses, and took all kinds of tours and chartered the DELTA QUEEN for a block of time each year and ran trips on the Upper Mississippi ranging from 2 to 5 days in length. These would seem to be odd embarkation and debarkation points to steamboaters today: trips like Davenport to Dubuque, Dubuque weekend, Prarie DuChein to St. Paul and such. It was really a good deal for the consumer, as it gave people a chance to take a short trip for a reasonable amount of money. Many fell under the DQ's spell this way and it was a great way to introduce them to the wonderful world of steamboating. Is Dick still living?

Dear Judy, Annie Blum here. Many , many thanks for the fantastic pictures of the Admiral. I am envious as I have no old pictures in my "collection".

Steamers Service Company?

Here's an interesting quote from the Streckfus Steamers magazine of the time:

"A giant, air-conditioned, streamlined excursion boat--said to be the largest ever built for that use on American inland waterways--will be placed in service here next June by Streckfus Steamers, Incorporated. The vessel, a departure from conventional riverboat design also in that it is free of exterior decorative "gingerbread", is 374 feet long-more than a city block-and has five decks, two of which are air-conditioned and three open. Its steel hull is divided into 74 compartments, as many as 11 of which may be flooded with the boat still remaining afloat, according to the company announcement, made on its purchase of the vessel at an undisclosed price, from its builders, Steamers Service Company. The steamer had been a 'mystery boat' during the two years it was under construction here. No name has been chosen for the vessel, but Capt. Joe Streckfus says there will be an official christening ceremony in the spring."

Was Steamers Service Company a way for SSI to take money from one pocket and place it into another? Everything done above board, I'm certain, and surely a sound business maneuver.

Judy;
I think that there is at least some possibility that the two Streckfus boats below Eads Bridge may be the JS Deluxe and the St. Paul since the presence of the Washington would indicate that the photo was taken in either late 1938 or early 1939 since Admiral entered service in 1940. The third boat downstream from Eads may be the Golden Eagle.

Yes, I'm thinking it might be the SAINT PAUL/SENATOR next to the PREZ, as the JS DELUXE had the narrower bow in later years. The WASHINGTON was dismantled in '38, the JS in the winter of '38-39, and the ADMIRAL was built from '38-40. The CAPITOL was dismantled in '45. Since they did the dismantling above the Eads, my guess is that's an active boat, hence the SAINT PAUL/SENATOR. Wouldn't that have been a neat sight to see all those boats there at once?

Sam, I'm gonna bet "yes", that it was a subsidiary. Maybe the Blums can tell us. Capt. Tom Dunn, are you lurking out there?

That's a new one to me, but considering how 'resourceful' the Streckfus family was with finances, that sounds like a logical conclusion creating a second company with which to deal... as someone mentioned, they put out a wonderful souvenir book on the construction and introduction of the ADMIRAL (which is often on Ebay), and when I first rode in 1956, we bought a revised version of that book. Its funny how some things just stick in your mind, but in that book was an illustration of the ADMIRAL on end against the Bell Telephone building, to compare its length. That has always stuck with me, and here it is... I must say that some of the most interesting, and factfilled literature on steamboating is that wonderful series of Streckfus Steamer Magazines, which ran from 1924-79. They had a different format from 1915-24, mostly featuring the river towns rather than the boats. Occasionally an issue will surface on Ebay, but a warning: if my name is high bidder, expect to pay a pretty penny, as I'm trying to acquire the whole set and don't have too many left to get and I'll almost mortgage the house, if necessary!!!

The PRESIDENT's calliope is still aboard that vessel, but is missing most of its whistles. Not sure what happened to the ADMIRAL's steam pie-anna.

You have asked the $64,000 question, Wesley! You generally get either a "I don't know but have an idea", or a sly smile when you ask a Streckfus about the CAPITOL/ADMIRAL calliope. Word was it was in Capt. Bill Carroll's basement, but he denied that. I think that part of it supposedly was in his stuff which was donated to the Mercantile Library, but where the majority of it is/was, .........

and of course, the PREZ's calliope, which came from the JS DELUXE, was rebuilt for her casino days here, so how much of what little is left is original is questionable...

I suspect they had several powder room attendants on duty to keep the place clean and to discourage messy customers... as to those Dick Billings charters, I'm going to post a new thread on that as some DQ fans probably aren't reading this thread...

Judy;
As I recall, there was at least one and I think maybe two powder room attendants for each powder room.

ADMIRAL booklet on Ebay

Here's one of those souvenir booklets for sale now: http://cgi.ebay.com/1941-SS-ADMIRAL-STEAMSHIP-PICTORIAL-SOUVENIR-ST-LOUIS_W0QQitemZ230055514383QQihZ013QQcategoryZ14053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Annie Blum again. Yes, Steamer Service was definitely a subsidiary of Streckfus Steamers. I feel sure that it was legal, and done on the advice of their financial consultant.

Yes, the bell on the Admiral came from St. Patrick's church which was on the near north side, near downtown St. Louis. The church was razed.

As for the powder rooms, I can't remember that there was much real fabric. There were still those molded corners that had to be kept clean, but no fabric to keep clean.

I don't think having a subsidiary of the parent company building and then leasing back the boat is anything unusual. The MQ for years was owned by Great Ocean Cruise Line. Maybe she still is. At least this past year, on the DELTA QUEEN's COI the owner was not listed as The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. or Ambasadors International, but rather some company I have never heard of before. I believe that the NATCHEZ was built by Robt. E. Lee, Inc. There are certain tax benefits and protections that are gained this way, and it is all above board and very legal.

Neare-Gibbs Collection?

When I see your name bidding on eBay, I always back-off. A collection that I would like to complete is the Neare-Gibbs series of steamboat prints. Anyone familiar with them?

And, in later years, when the Delta Queen company fully owned the DQ and MQ, the AQ was still owned by another entity. After the 2001 bankruptcy, it was MARAD. I always believed that this is why the AQ was sent to the bullpen, when looking for boats to sideline during bad times. I'm not sure, but I think that Ambassadors has rectified this issue and purchased all three boats, plus the company. It seems possible, since they are really trumpeting the AQ in the new Majestic America Line.

Frank X. Prudent;2395 wrote: I don't think having a subsidiary of the parent company building and then leasing back the boat is anything unusual. The MQ for years was owned by Great Ocean Cruise Line. Maybe she still is. At least this past year, on the DELTA QUEEN's COI the owner was not listed as The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. or Ambasadors International, but rather some company I have never heard of before. I believe that the NATCHEZ was built by Robt. E. Lee, Inc. There are certain tax benefits and protections that are gained this way, and it is all above board and very legal.

Actually MAL placed each boat in a seperate corporation as of 5-1-06. The American Queen is owned by AQ Boat, LLC, the DeltaQueen by DQ Boat, LLC and the Mississippi Queen by MQ Boat, LLC, all at 1071 Camelback St., Newport, CA. Interesting though that the federal lein by MARAD has disappeared.

The name NATCHEZ does not appear in the title blocks of the drawings. I giggled at the irony of the Natchez being built for Robert E. Lee, Inc. The boat's name was pretty fluid during the design work and Natchez was not selected until most of the drawings were completed.
This happens often. The Howard drawings of the America are labelled Indiana. The Bertrand was named Ariadne right up until she was completed. Many boat drawings are not named at all, but are called Hull No. 243, or whatever.

Companies for each boat

Thanks for the interesting info. It does seem that the AQ has been cleared of the MARAD ownership stake and is now fully owned by Ambassadors. It's interesting to hear of the separate companies for each boat. It's more in line with my company, where it seems that we have LLC companies for everything under the sun. To the outside world, we have the parent corporation, with operating companies. But internally, we have the corporation, then a second level, mostly unknown, holding company, and then the operating companies (the ones that people recognize). I'm waiting for the Facilities department to be named Facilities LLC. So, jokingly, does this mean that the master of each boat is an officer of that boat's "company"?

Bill Judd;2434 wrote: Actually MAL placed each boat in a seperate corporation as of 5-1-06. The American Queen is owned by AQ Boat, LLC, the DeltaQueen by DQ Boat, LLC and the Mississippi Queen by MQ Boat, LLC, all at 1071 Camelback St., Newport, CA. Interesting though that the federal lein by MARAD has disappeared.

Judy,

From what I have seen, it looks like the manifold and about 4 completely intact whistles are left aboard the Str. PRESIDENT calliope (Parts of others remain, about 3 in all). The keyboard and electronics are definately added by Kim S. Graham when he rebuilt it back in 1990 or so. The keyboard style is definatly his (as it is identical to the one he built for the M/V CREOLE QUEEN) and not original to the Thomas J. Nichol (the original builder of the calliope) design.

I would say the only original parts are those whistles and the manifold. Dave Miner of Miner Manufacturing rebuilt the calliope for Tall Stacks 1988 and added the first player unit and new keyboard to it then. About 3 years earlier Gary Frommelt (Chief on the boat at that time) rebuilt the mechanical action and it all worked. The only answer I could get out of anyone as to why the calliope was electrified (since it was in excellent working order as it was) for Tall Stacks was they couldn't get anyone to play it if they didn't. Yet, the King of the Tracker Calliopists, Capt Clarke C. (Doc) Hawley was employed as the performance artist. So that excuse doesn't float with me! I had penned an offer to play it for Tall Stacks in April of 1988 year and recieved a response letter stating they already had a Calliopist in St. Louis who was coming with them to Tall Stacks.

I would love to find out what happened to the keyboard, brass keys, and all those old brass manual valves. Bet someone somewhere has a great cache of parts from that calliope.

Seems the ADMIRAL's calliope has been a mystery for several years. Last thing I heard about it was it was supposed to have been played in a parade in St. Louis back in 1981 on air. I have met the person who was said to have played it. The instrument he describes is not a steam calliope at all but, a Tangley Calliaphone (air-operated circus calliope) not unlike the one in my living room. So I doubt this story to be true.

~Travis~