April 19, 2021 By Keith Norrington
With the demise by fire of the Goldenrod Showboat in late 2017, an unsolved question remains concerning the big pilotwheel that was long displayed in the lobby area of the famous floating theater. When removed from the derelict showboat, along with numerous other artifacts destined for a proposed river museum, it was noted that the wheel is of the double-circle variety and is not the pilotwheel of the steamer Wenonah, which long served as the towboat for the Goldenrod and Hollywood Showboats, both operated by the Menke family. (The Old Boat Column showcased Capt. Bill Menke in the
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December 28, 2020 By
During this final week of 2020, the Old Boat Column takes a fond look back 50 years to the summer of 1970, when the St. Louis levee was still a lively place for both tourists and residents. Three of the riverboats that occupied the wharf for many years are now but nostalgic, happy memories to those who, like this writer, recall the days when the sounds of a steam calliope and ragtime music reverberated over the cobblestones.
In the shadow of the historic Eads Bridge (opened in 1874), at the foot of Washington Avenue, the excursion steamer Admiral was operated by Streckfus Steamers. Originally built at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1907 as the sidewheel railroad ferry Albatross, the boat operated at Vicksburg for the Louisiana & Mississippi Valley Transfer Company, carrying 16 railroad cars at a time.