Built as Cincinnati in 1924 she ran as a passenger packet steamer from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. In 1929 she was bought by Streckfus Steamers. In 1932 she was moved to St. Louis for conversion to the largest excursion boat in America. Her two year conversion added a bandstand and a ballroom that was two decks high. She was advertised as the "New 5 Decked Super Steamer, Biggest and Finest on the Mississippi." She was renamed the President. In 1941 it was moved to New Orleans. Around 1978 her steam engines were replaced with 1000 hp diesel engines in each paddle box. She returned to St. Louis in 1985, and was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1989. It opened as a casino in 1990. In 1991 it was moved to Davenport, Iowa. She ran until 1999 and was retired. She is being dismantled and moved to St. Elmo, Illinois to become a hotel. If you are traveling on highway 70 the President is on the north side of the road and can be seen from the highway.
The pilot house and one of the smoke stacks.
The upper deck
One of the stairways that led to the upper deck.
It looks like an impossible job, but I hope one of our last remaining steamboats can be saved.
The upper deck
One of the stairways that led to the upper deck.
It looks like an impossible job, but I hope one of our last remaining steamboats can be saved.
3 comments:
That is a cool one. We need to find some ship bone yards to take pictures of. That wheel house would look great off of your living room!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_(steamboat)
According to above link the President is located on the south side of I-70. Can you confirm that is true?
When I took the pictures of the pieces of the president they were on the north side of the highway. Since then they have been moved. I don't know where they were taken.
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