LOUIS PAST--------part one I thought it might be interesting to periodically take a look at St Louis of the past.
The Admiral [currently a land based casino] was once a beautiful, great, magnificent traveling river excursion boat. In the evening you would dress to the nines and take your best girl on a cruise on the Mississippi from 8:00 PM to 12: am. On the two decks with windows you could dance the night away to a live orchestra. The third deck was semi open air and you could purchase food at several different venues. The top deck was open to the skies for star gazing.
Later in life when you had a young family you would cruise in the afternoon from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM spending lots of time on the first deck as that deck had all kinds of games and rides for the kids. In addition you would cool off on the air conditioned dance floor,eat in the open air dining area, and watch the river from the top deck.
It was always special to take out of town visitors on a cruise and listen to their compliments and comments.
The Admiral was a top flight attraction and a shame to lose. How it eventually became a casino is another story.
3 comments:
Ed- thanks for this post. It brings back lots of memories for me. I was supposed to celebrate a childhood birthday with my grandparents on the admiral, but I got the flu instead. I never had the pleasure of cruising the mighty mississippi on that beautiful boat!
Are there any boats that launch from StL for excursions like this? Now that seems fun.
The Admiral was a great place for a date or just going with a bunch of friends. Glad to see the Boat sailing on your page. What a great dance floor it had. Even the "ladies restrooms" were special with movie star's pictures over the vanities. The top deck was a great place to watch the stars and do a little spooing with your favorite guy. Thanks Ed
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