Admiral

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

unless someone is willing to fork up the cash to restore it, it needs to go to the scrap yard. All it's doing right now is weathering away as it welcomes individuals coming from the illinois side of the river...not exactly a great first sight. As a kid, i can remember going on the Admiral several times with my father, and thinking it was a fantastic ship, futuristic looking, and impressive...But if it's not economical for a private individual to buy and restore, i'd hate to see the city/county try to cough up money to do it...and it'd be even worse to see the ship get in an even more run down shape right on our doorstep. Just my $.02 though.

Dont know if you read the article....it stated that whomever the owner is refused all the offers, saying they were too low.
I have the feeling that the owner was going to scrap the Admiral the whole time.

[CarrieNeno]

Wow just wow. Yeah, I was around for the weird 1980 revitalization... but this really hits home for older locals. My 70 yr old mom remembers having her tap dancing recitals on the Admiral. Sad, sad thing...

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

I guess it is past-due to happen but it is kind of sad for me. The admiral was one of those iconic symbols in St. Louis since I was a kid growing up. We'd go downtown for something and my parents would also point out, there's the Admiral.

Couldn't have said it better. I remember my parents pointing out the Admiral when we were driving across the bridge.

I always liked the shiny "modern" appearance of it when comparing it to other boats on the riverfront. I never saw it actually out cruising the river... Was that just at night for the dance cruises? I think my parents went a time or two.

As much as the truth hurts, flynavy's post pretty much sums it up. The last 30+ years have been more flop than success. They've tried all sorts of things, and nothing really worked long term. Even the casino. Anyone remember when it got detached from it's mooring back in the late 90s while the casino was open??

Looking back, there were a lot more attractions on the riverfront than today. I remember a small naval vessel, the Robert E. Lee (it fell in bad disrepair), the McDonalds and even a Taco Bell if I remember right. Maybe they fell out of favor and eventually lost money and became liabilities. I dunno.

All that's left now are the Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer tour boats.

[flynavyj]

Those are pretty similar to my childhood memories as well. I can faintly remember meeting "Oscar the Grouch" on board the admiral as a kid (during that 80's redo). I also remember the old navy ship down there, took a helicopter ride once, and ate at the McDonald's riverboat on every arch field-trip throughout grade school...I keep thinking it was open when i was in high school the first time we took our day camp kids to the arch also, but was closed for all subsequent visits...unfortunately i can't really remember and all the visits kind of blur together, and soon enough riverboats will seem a distant memory as well....

Does anyone remember when the Alton Belle used to make gambling cruises up the river? If anyone ever wants to look at the "give and inch, they'll take a foot" scenario, just think of the progress gambling has made in the St. Louis area.

[kshe95girl]

Mo, I can remember day cruises on the Admiral when I was a kid, late 60s.....shhhhhhh, dont tell anyone!
I may even have pix somewhere.......

[JetAgeHobo]

What did exactly happen to the riverfront anyway. I remember... Admiral, (still have a giant mechanical pencil souvenir) Robert E Lee minesweeper, Goldenrod Showboat, used to have some neat shows, River Queen restaurant, many a good meal there. Of course the Mickey D's, etc.

And who could forget the Santa Maria replica that kept sinking, or getting loose from it's moorings every storm or so.

Ah the past, aint' it great.