Goldenrod was a floating theater, known as a showboat, which operated on the Mississippi River and its tributaries throughout the 20th Century. She was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark on 24 December 1967 and a St. Louis, Missouri City Landmark in 1972. She was placed on the 'Threatened Historical Landmarks' list in 2001. On 21 October 2017, the boat burned to her hull and was sold for scrap. In a meeting held 15–16 August 2023, the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB) recommended to withdraw the National Historic Landmark designation of Goldenrod due to her loss of historical integrity.
As an example of the modern era of showboats that ended in the 1920s, Goldenrod was the largest and most elaborately decorated of the showboats. She provided entertainment in the form of minstrel shows, vaudeville, and serious drama. The boat was designed in the manner of a 19th-century showboat rather than a late 20th century one, in other words, not like a paddlewheeler steamboat. She was designed in the "Steamboat Gothic" style.
History
Goldenrod was built in 1909 by Pope Dock Company of Parkersburg, West Virginia for W.R. Markle at a cost $75,000. At long and wide, she had an auditorium long with twenty-one red velour upholstered boxes and a seating capacity of 1,400.
In 1910, twenty-two showboats, plied the Mississippi, visiting 15 midwestern states. (Showboats were typically non-powered barges with entertainment palaces built upon them.) By 1928, this number had dwindled to twelve, and by 1938, only four remained in operation. In 1943, only the Goldenrod remained. Between the Great Depression, movies, and increased mobility, the days of the showboat were all but over.
R.W. Emerson took ownership of Goldenrod around 1913 with an auction bid of $11,000. Seating capacity was reduced to 1300 under his ownership in order to widen the center aisle.
Goldenrod was the last showboat to work the Mississippi. Under the ownership of Capt. Bill Menke, she was moored at the St. Louis riverfront in 1937. In 1947, the original wooden hull was placed into a steel barge at the St. Louis Shipbuilding & Steel Company. By 1950, she had been partially sunk and salvaged twice. Shows were still being staged, and, for 75 cents a head, St. Louis playgoers could board the boat and "sass the actors" on stage.
On 1 June 1962, a disastrous fire, caused by an electrical short, all but destroyed the superstructure of the auditorium, and caused severe damage to the entire structure. The Goldenrod was then purchased by a group of St. Louis businessmen headed by Frank C. Pierson and Don Franz, and restored to her original glory, and beyond. Plush carpeting was laid in the auditorium, with cabaret seating, under a huge crystal chandelier. Many antique appointments were salvaged from old St. Louis mansions being torn down. Brass fixtures and rails were restored or replaced, as was the tin ceiling and elaborate woodwork. A cocktail lounge was added, with a small bandstand where the St. Louis Ragtimers band played traditional ragtime for many years. The upstairs staterooms were converted into a buffet dining room. When this $300,000 renovation was completed, Goldenrod had her Grand Re-Opening in May, 1965. In 1967, she was registered as a National Historic Landmark. Mr. Pierson also owned the Becky Thatcher, a former packet boat, traveling no more but moored beside Goldenrod, featuring a restaurant, lounges, and gift shop.
On the levee
Beginning in the early 1960s to about 1985, the National Ragtime Festival at St. Louis was held in June aboard Goldenrod. Many vintage jazz and ragtime bands were featured, including Turk Murphy and The Salty Dogs. From 1975 to 1984, Goldenrod was operated as a sister theater to the Heritage Square Opera House in Golden, Colorado, presenting a unique style of melodrama plus vaudeville olio, in a high energy format created by G. William Oakley of Denver, Colorado. During this same period, the National Ragtime Festivals, produced by Oakley, became an annual phenomenon on the St. Louis riverfront.
St. Charles
In 1989, Goldenrod was purchased by the city of St. Charles for $300,000 and moved to the historic Missouri River town. She was restored and renovated, costing the city about 3.5 million dollars over the next 12 years. The dinner theater continued to operate as a popular attraction. In 2001, she was run aground after Missouri River levels ran low. Goldenrod was closed due to Coast Guard structural repair requirements. The repair estimates were much higher than expected, and the city council decided to sell her in 2002.