Sublunar Photography

"The Goldenrod Showboat was built in 1909 by the Pope Dock Company of Parkersburg West Virginia at a cost of $75,000. 200 feet long and 45 feet wide with an auditorium of 162 feet long, it had a seating capacity of 1,400."

"In 1910, 22 showboats visited 15 states as part of their regular route along the Mississippi. By 1938, only four remained in operation and by 1943 the Goldenrod was the last of its kind still touring."

"Goldenrod was the last showboat operational on the Mississippi. Under Capt Bill Menke, she was moored at the Saint Louis riverfront in 1937. In 1947, the original wooden hull was placed into a steel barge by the Saint Louis Shipbuilding & Steel company. By 1950, she had been partially sunk and salvaged twice."

"On June 1, 1962, a disastrous fire all but destroyed the superstructure of the autitorium and caused severe damage to the entire structure. The Goldenrod was then purchased by a group of Saint Louis businessmen and was subsequently restored to her original glory. Many of the new furnishings came from old Saint Louis mansions that were being demolished. When the $300,000 renovation was completed, Goldenrod had her Grand Re-Opening in May, 1965. In 1967, she was registered as a National Historic Landmark."

"Eventually, the city of Saint Charles purchased the Goldenrod and she was subsequently moved there. In 2001, she was run aground and closed due to repairs. She was eventually moved to Kampsville, Illinois and was eventually sold for $5,000. After changing hands several times through various circumstances, she was ultimately destroyed by issues related to mooring and finally the destructive fire which brought about her demise."

Quoted (with some paraphrasing) from the Wikipedia article.

I myself recall seeing at least one play on the Goldenrod as a child, specifically "A Christmas Carol". RIP, Goldenrod.

"The USS Inaugural (AM-242) was an Admirable-class fleet minesweeper. The Admirable class was the largest and one of the most successful classes of U.S. minesweepers ordered during World War II. Inaugural was launched on 1 October 1944, and was commissioned on 30 December, with Lieutenant John H. Pace USNR in command.

The ship was decommissioned in 1946 and set up as a museum ship in St. Louis, Missouri in 1968.

Inaugural had performed its duties with distinction. By the end of its career, the vessel had cleared eighty-two mines and was awarded two battle stars for service during World War II.

Inaugural was ripped from its mooring and grounded a mile downstream in the flood of 1993.*"

Normally the water level is sufficient to keep anyone from making it out to her, other times she's fully submerged beneath the river. Not only did we find ourselves fortunate enough to finally be standing on the USS Inaugural, but we also found a way inside for a rare look at the interior of this legendary WWII warship which has been submerged and rusting on this muddy Mississippi river bank in Saint Louis for the past 20 years. Getting inside was a challenge itself but it was also rather difficult to navigate the cramped dark interior spaces, especially due to the fact that the ship is resting at about a 45 degree angle and mostly full of mud and water. Fortunately, we were able to explore a decent portion of the interior wherein we found rusty levers, gauges and other unidentified machinery which likely hadn't been touched since the fateful day in which she came loose and sank all those years ago.

Source:Wikipedia. All vintage historic photos are courtesy of Jared Johnson: https://ussinaugural.org/index.html

Update: 10/2012: The guns have been removed from the Inaugural sometime since this visit took place.

Update: 1/2013: The Inaugural is currently being cut up into scrap..

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