Topic starter
15/08/2008 2:27 pm
I ran across several vintage views of the DELTA QUEEN at St. Louis and thought I'd share them. The first one was taken in the summer of 1967 from the helicopter that gave tours of the riverfront. From the left are the ADMIRAL, GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT, BECKY THATCHER, Streckfus wharfboat for M/V HUCK FINN, MISSISSIPPI BELLE and DELTA QUEEN, framed by the Gateway Arch.
The other two views show the bustling waterfront on July 23, 1972 and were taken by Capt. Jim Blum from the Eads Bridge. In the first image the DQ is blowing her landing whistle as she has just passed under the Poplar Street Bridge. Boats in the foreground are the S.S. ADMIRAL (note the calliope from the Str. CAPITOL on the roof) the GOLDENROD (with MISSISSIPPI BELLE alongside) and the BECKY THATCHER. In the next image, the DQ is nearing the levee just below the excursion boat SAMUEL CLEMENS. Below the DQ is the ill fated replica of the SANTA MARIA (many thought it was a pirate ship!) the restaurant boat LT. ROBERT E. LEE and the minesweeper U.S. INAUGURAL. It's very hard to see, but the old steamboat MINNESOTA (once owned by the Mayo brothers) is alongside the INAUGURAL. It was a restaurant at St. Louis, several times, after having been at Cape Girardeau, named REBEL QUEEN. At St. Louis she was also known as the RIVER QUEEN for a time, moored above the Eads Bridge. Later, known as the COTTON BLOSSOM, she sank during the early winter of 1978 and was scrapped.
The passage of time and the river have brought MANY changes to the levee!
15/08/2008 2:55 pm
...and in the background in Illinois the power plant with the 4 stacks that we jokingly referred to as the Titanic... those were the days when there was plenty to do on the riverfront, including the Ragtime Festival, and the St. Louis Ragtimers on the GOLDENROD at night. And this predates the STAR attraction even - the riverboat McDonald's!!!
Topic starter
15/08/2008 4:17 pm
The Riverboat McDonald's made its debut in 1980. While it appeared to be a gold mine and always busy, it was notorious for poor service and finally disappeared from the riverfront.
Indeed, the days of the ragtime festivals aboard the showboat and on the levee were wonderful. The St. Louis Ragtimers, formed in 1961, are still making music and I recently talked with Don Franz about the possibility of them doing a program of "Riverboat Ragtime" at the museum. Stay tuned! In the meantime, 4 volumes of their CD's and other recordings (some made on the GOLDENROD) are available on Ebay and at JazzByMail.Com.
Here are a few more "finds from the files" of the long ago days on the St. Louis Levee. (1) Str. Becky Thatcher, taken from the DQ on September 21, 1968 by Benton Roblee Duhme. (2) A 1970 riverfront photo in which the DQ is visible. (3) A 1972 festival with wall-to-wall people!
15/08/2008 4:41 pm
the third one almost looks like a Tall Stacks!
16/08/2008 12:47 pm
Keith & Judy,
Yes how things have changed here in St. Louis over the years. I was lucky enough to have experienced the riverfront in it's last "heydays" in the late 70's and early 80's. It is now in a sad, pathetic state...if I was a tourist visiting the St. Louis riverfront, I would say the "gateway" to the west is rusting and about to fall off its hinges!!! Oh, and yes, the service on the McDonald's boat was terrible. The best part about eating onboard was being on the river and feeding the sparrows french fries!