[Keith Norrington]

Several articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in recent days convey the sad news that we are soon to lose yet another steamboat. The S.S. ADMIRAL, built on the hull of the railroad ferry ALBATROSS, is being readied for a trip in early March to a scrap yard, probably in the Alton area. Workers were busy this past week removing and stripping the boat of some 250,000 pounds of materials, including copper wiring that connected gambling machines from the boat's time as a casino. Work was underway on Friday to remove the pilothouse, to ensure the boat can pass under the bridge at the Mel Price Locks and Dam, should there be high water at the time the boat is moved to her final landing.

Making her debut on June 12, 1940, the ADMIRAL was the pride of Streckfus Steamers and usually departed her wharfboat at the foot of Washington Avenue with 4,000 passengers aboard. She operated until 1979 and later had a short lived career as an entertainment vessel, operated by Six Flags, which included a new theatre equipped wharfboat. Although not gingerbread trimmed like her fabled predecessors in the Streckfus fleet, the ADMIRAL carried the whistle from the J.S. DeLUXE, the calliope from the CAPITOL and was nonetheless a sidewheel steamboat that has more than earned her place in river history. The uniquely designed vessel was literally an amusement park afloat and is fondly remembered by countless St. Louisans and tourists who rode on daytime and moonlight cruises during her career which spanned four decades.

The wharfboat for the ADMIRAL soon will be towed to Jeffersonville, Indiana, purchased by the city for $370,000, to become a replacement for the RIVERSTAGE, which is moored at the city waterfront each summer to provide various concerts and shows. The original barge will again be used this summer while renovations are made to the "new" barge formerly alongside the ADMIRAL.

Images:
(1) ADMIRAL departing on excursion - 1973 - Showboat GOLDENROD and Str. BECKY THATCHER in background.
(2 & 3) ADMIRAL and new wharfboat after conversion by Six Flags to entertainment center - taken from the Eads Bridge - April 30, 1987 by KN.