“The steamboats were finer than anything on shore. Compared with superior dwelling houses and first class hotels in the valley, they were indubitably magnificent, they were `palaces.’ ” — from “Life on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain.
Consider this hypothetical goal: To bring to the 20th Century Mississippi River a steamboat that would thrill Mark Twain. A gleaming white steamboat with twin 70-foot fluted stacks, a gingerbread-ornamented wheel house and a red paddle wheel churning its way up the Big Muddy at 8 miles an hour.
To build a classic 19th Century steamboat palace, described by Twain and pictured by Currier and Ives, was the objective of architect Al Luthmers, president of Chicago-based American Classic Voyages Development Co., a unit of American Classic Voyages Co., parent of Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and American Hawaii Cruises.
With the financially successful Delta Queen (a National Historic Landmark) and Mississippi Queen operating at near capacity as the only overnight riverboats in the United States, the time was right for a third boat.
Luthmers headed the design team of the new $65-million, six-deck, 436-passenger sternwheeler steamboat, the American Queen. The largest steamboat ever built (4,700 tons, 418 feet long and 89.3 feet wide), the American Queen will launch its inaugural season June 27 after several weeks of special shakedown cruises that will take the boat from New Orleans to Pittsburgh. (Call your travel agent or Delta Queen Steamboat Co., 800-543-1949, for cruise information.)
In proposing a new boat to join the venerable Delta Queen and the newer Mississippi Queen (1976) for steamboatin’ on the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers, Luthmers and his group told its board of directors little more than three years ago:
“The key to the passenger’s heart is authenticity and uniqueness. While the boat is to be similar in size, capacity and amenities to the Mississippi Queen, the model for the boat’s character and personality is the Delta Queen.”
From the very beginning, Luthmers said, “we looked at the strengths of both boats, trying to make sure we didn’t preclude anything” in developing a 19th Century steamboat that blends state-of-the-art technology with authentic and elegant Victorian trappings.
“We had tremendous discussions with the operating company as to the character, size and personality of the boat,” Luthmers said in an interview.
“The concept of the boat is residential–Grandmother’s wonderful Victorian mansion with a living room, dining room, parlor, library, big front porch and lots of bedrooms,” Luthmers said.
Thus Luthmers’ primary focus was on authenticity. And to Luthmers, authenticity boiled down to a couple of major things. “One was that we were going to propel this boat with steam engines. We did find real steam engines circa 1930 from a steam dredge, and we rebuilt and restored them. We did, however, add electric steerable propulsion thrusters and twin bow thruster that give the boat a lot more maneuverability.
“Another thing was the overall appearance and composition of the boat. We wanted it to be historically authentic, and that was a challenge,” Luthmers said. To achieve a look that Mark Twain would have approved of, Luthmers and his design staff scoured archives, pictures and plans of long-gone steamboats that plied the Mississippi–opulent boats like the Charles Rebstock, the J.M. White and the Grand Republic.
“We had no interest at all, for example, in modeling after the Mississippi Queen, which was originally designed as a `contemporary steamboat.’ The architects made certain concessions to the 19th Century origins of the boat, but they didn’t celebrate them. On the other hand, the Delta Queen is a riverboat. It plied the Sacramento River in the 1920s along with its brother, the Delta King. It had a very modest format for the business it was in. So authenticity challenged us to do a boat that looked like a 19th Century steamboat palace.”
To achieve this goal, “we never slavishly imitated anything,” Luthmers said. “The pilot house is adapted from the Revstock. The tall, twin-fluted stacks are from the J.M. White. Other elements come from the Grand Republic and other steamboat gothic palaces.”
From the time passengers walk across the landing onto the American Queen and up the grand staircase, past the opulently decorated Gentlemen’s Card Room and Ladies’ Parlor and through the Mark Twain Gallery to the Purser’s Lobby and hotel desk, they already have a sense that the boat is “better than they expected.”
In the foyer at the top of the grand staircase, passengers find a water cooler, a replica of the ornate fountain that provided the only source of drinking water on the old steamboats. If they glance into the card room, they see a room done in dark green wallpaper with heavy furniture and an Oriental rug. The Ladies’ Parlor has a swan reclining couch, antique wood fireplace, floral carpets, smaller chairs and a quilting table. The Mark Twain Gallery is a low-ceilinged, almost entirely wooden space–a combination library with old books, a museum and lounge, with windows overlooking the J.M. White Dining Room. Other features include the Grand Saloon, modeled on a circa 1885 opera house, and the Engine Room Bar, where you can see the old steam engines at work.
“We set out to create a boat that keeps revealing itself, that keeps unfolding,” Luthmers said, in explaining the incredible amount of historic detail aboard the American Queen.
The boat’s 222 suites and staterooms, said Luthmers, purposefully were designed as charming Victorian bedrooms, not convertible cabins where passengers might want to lounge.
“We want our passengers to fully participate in the range of activities and situations offered.”
Besides watching the heartland glide by from the boat’s front porch, passengers can enjoy shore excursions, good food, music, entertainment and camaraderie.
A cruise on the American Queen is designed as a social event–a visit to Grandma’s Victorian mansion. Yes, Mark Twain would approve.
