17/52 - Photo Project 2014

In Week 17, I had an amazing opportunity to explore a piece of St. Louis history. The Goldenrod Showboat is on the National Register of Historic Places, a US National Historic Landmark but yet she sits in "dry dock", rotting away.  She's had quite the history - built in 1909, suffered a devastating fire in 1962 and was fully restored to her popular glory in 1965. Moored at the St Louis riverfront, she stayed there until 1989 when she was moved to St. Charles. St. Charles renovated her again and continued to operate as a dinner theatre until 2001. The City Council sold her in 2002 and has been deteriorating ever since.

We had the opportunity to tour the boat and take pictures, in hope to help get the word out to save this historic boat. I certainly hope it gets saved, but there's certainly a ton of work that needs to go into it. It was literally abandoned without warning, so there's still dirty dishes in the sink, for example. The hull was damaged in 2001 due to low river levels and was never fixed. Parts of the boat are in remarkably wonderful shape and it's definitely stopped in time, in places. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, it's definitely plausible that it can get saved - but it'll take some serious work and serious money.

Now that I'm done being wordy, here's the winner of the week:

It's the chandelier in the entry, viewed from below, showcasing the vintage tin ceiling:

Close second:

For the rest, check them out here.

For more on the showboat, check them out here.