The President Riverboat Casino, one of the first modern casino boats, operated in Davenport, Iowa. I was fortunate to have worked on her.
Not a barge with a casino on it, this old girl was an actual riverboat. Christened in 1924 as the SS Cincinnati, she plied the Big Muddy. True Mississippi riverboats were side-wheelers. Rear paddle-wheels were designed to navigate the debris-filled Missouri River. Fires were commonplace on riverboats. So in the 1930s, she was stripped to her hull, rebuilt as the nation's first all-steel riverboat and renamed the SS President.
Port-of-call New Orleans in the fall and winter, cruising the upper Mississippi in the spring and summer, she hosted three-hour dance excursions. Dixieland jazz, big bands, full orchestras, the President saw it all. In the late 80s, she was refitted as a floating casino that opened in 1991. Unfortunately, the cost of upkeep and operational issues, doomed the President. It was decommissioned and sold for scrap.
Once a month, I'd be MOD and had to stay on the boat for the night cruises. I'd stand on the top deck, gaze at the sky and watch the shoreline quietly pass. Words cannot describe the nostalgia conjured up on those magical evenings. Resquiescat in pace matron of the Mississippi - as ever BB
"We move up the river-always through enchanting scenery, there being no other kind on the Upper Mississippi." - Mark Twain from Life on the Mississippi
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