SS Admiral (1907)

Mississippi River steamboat, entertainment center, and casino

SS Admiral was an excursion steamboat that operated on the Mississippi River from the Port of St. Louis, Missouri, from 1940 to 1978. The ship was briefly re purposed as an amusement center in 1987 and converted to a gambling venue called President Casino, also known as Admiral Casino, in the 1990s. The boat was dismantled for scrap, starting in 2011.

Admiral descended from the metal hulled sidewheeler Albatross, a ferry for heavy vehicles owned by the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. With no bridge over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi, the railroads used a pair of car ferries to shuttle railcars across. The 374 feet (114 m) Albatross had rails built onto the deck, allowing railcars to roll onto the ship, take the short ride across the river, then roll onto tracks on the opposite shore. A bridge completed in 1930 rendered Albatross obsolete for its intended purpose, and it was retired from ferry service after 23 years.

Albatross was acquired in 1935 by Streckfus Steamers, a company that ran excursion boats along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The company refitted the steamer with a five story, steel superstructure. Her steel hull was divided into 74 compartments, of which up to 11 could be flooded with the ship still remaining afloat. The new steel framework was designed and fabricated by Banner Iron Works. The two massive piston shafts that drove the side paddle wheels were nicknamed Popeye and Wimpy and were visible from the lower deck. Construction was completed in 1940 at a cost of over (equivalent to in ). Streckfus Steamers tested the rebuilt ship, rechristening it Admiral, on
The Art Deco exterior was designed by Mazie Krebs for Captain Joe Streckfus in 1933. The young Krebs was a fashion illustrator for the St. Louis department store Famous Barr, and neither she nor Streckfus originally took the design seriously, but she designed another vessel for Streckfus, President, in 1934.

The SS Admiral departed on her first excursion cruise from the St. Louis waterfront in June 1940. The steamer could carry as many as 4,400 passengers. At first, operations included many all day excursions but the market later shifted toward shorter trips. Gangplanks led to the first deck, where popcorn was sold, and later, the company added a souvenir stand. The second and third decks were both air conditioned, and together, these levels were called the "Cabin." A large ballroomwith a capacity of about 2,000occupied most of the second deck, overlooked by ceiling tiles decorated with signs of the zodiac. Tables and booths were all around the ballroom, and there was a bandstand for live music. The second deck also included a bar and a concession stand. The third deck, also known as the mezzanine level, was surrounded by large windows and featured several dining and lounge areas. A large powder room on the mezzanine was named and styled for Greta Garbo. Interior furnishings and other decorations were designed in the Art Deco mode. The frame of the fourth level housed unglazed windows, creating a partly open air deck. The main kitchen was located there, as well as a large lounge and dining area, with a cafeteria and a soda jerk. The top deck, or "lido deck," was the only place on Admiral available for completely open air lounging. With unobstructed views, this was a vantage point for the St. Louis Arch, the top terraced homes on the Chouteau's Bluff, the Eads Bridge, the Martin Luther King Bridge and the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. Several coin operated telescopes facilitated close up views. The pilothouse, whistles, lights, and the ship's calliope were also located on the lido deck. The vessel was nearby when the Arch was completed in October 1965. In 1973, Streckfus Steamers converted Admiral from steam to diesel power. The shafts for the paddlewheels were cut and removed to make way for port and starboard diesel propellers. The side propellers and a stern mounted propeller were all run by large Caterpillar engines.

In 1979 the United States Coast Guard condemned the hull of Admiral and prohibited her from plying the Mississippi. Facing an estimated in repairs to the aging boat, Streckfus Steamers sold her two years later for to Pittsburgh businessman John E. Connelly, who had plans to move it to his hometown, though they were never realized. Connelly sent Admiral to Kentucky for repairs. Later, he returned it to St. Louis and sold it for to a group of local investors, SS Admiral Partners. A subsidiary of Six Flags, Six Flags Admiral Corporation, acquired Admiral and became the new general partner of SS Admiral Partners. The new ownership group invested million in the latest renovation: million in private funds and million from a federal grant. The fourth and fifth decks were converted to enclosed facilities. The ship was painted silver. A theater was added to the complex, along with a stationary multi level docking facility. Several restaurants and a sports bar were located in the retired ship. The partnership decided not to undergo the expense of a dry dock inspection, but later replaced structural deficiencies. This, together with faulty construction and problems with labor, resulted in final capital costs of million, or million over the original estimate. Admiral opened as an entertainment center in 1987, featuring several music venues, a restaurant, and the "Birdland Theater," a set of 14 animated, mechanical birds which played music. The venture missed a payment on its electricity bill in November of that year. The group subscribed former owner Connelly as an investor; less than a year later, however, the partnership was losing per month and defaulted on million in loan payments.

After the early 1990s, Admiral was operated from moorings near Eads Bridge as the President Casino Laclede's Landing. It had 1,230 slot machines, 59 gambling tables, 18 restrooms, and one restaurant.

About 19:50 CST on , the MV Anne Holly was pushing 12 loaded and two empty barges northbound on the Mississippi River through the St. Louis Harbor, struck the Missouri side pier of the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away from the tow and drifted back through the Missouri span. Three of these barges drifted toward Admiral. The drifting barges struck Admiral, causing 8 of its 10 mooring lines to break. Admiral rotated clockwise downriver, away from the Missouri riverbank. The captain of Anne Holly disengaged his vessel from the six remaining barges in the tow and placed Anne Hollys bow against Admirals bow to hold it against the bank. About the time Anne Holly began pushing against Admiral, Admirals next to last mooring line parted. Anne Holly and the single mooring wire that remained attached to Admirals stern anchor held Admiral near the Missouri bank. 50 people were examined for minor injuries. Of those examined, 16 were sent to local hospitals for further treatment. Damages were estimated at million (equivalent to million in ). With the motorless Admiral wedged against the bank, rescue boats worked for hours shuttling about 2,500 people to safety.

In June 2005, it was reported that Columbia Sussex Corp. wanted to buy the President Casino on Admiral and replace it with a new vessel. In August 2008, owner Pinnacle Entertainment was considering moving the boat north to the area near the Chain of Rocks Bridge. After the state refused to approve the deal, Pinnacle surrendered its gambling license and sold to St. Louis Marine in 2010. The top decks were removed, but further dismantling was delayed by the 2011 Mississippi River floods, which made it impossible to move the vessel downstream under the Eads Bridge. After the river lowered to a passable level, St. Louis Marine moved her remains on , to Columbia, Illinois, and her lower decks were dismantled. The hull was then towed to Calvert City, Kentucky, where it was hauled out on the bank of the Tennessee River and scrapping was completed.