Cincinnati: A Perfect Venue for Tall Stacks And Now River Roots

The first Tall Stacks event was held at Cincinnati in 1988. The idea grew out of a bicentennial commission to plan how to celebrate two centuries since the city’s founding. The concept came from the popular East Coast “Tall Ships” schooner festivals, with the name “Tall Stacks” pointing to the traditional high smokestacks of steamboats. That inaugural event in 1988 was immensely successful, with 14 excursion boats from throughout the river system in attendance and 700,000 visitors attending over the three-day period.

Cincinnati was the perfect venue for such an event, given the rich river history of the city and the fact that it grew exponentially due to river commerce. Many early steamboats were built in the area, and palatial passenger and freight packets operated out of that port for many years. By 1988, the sight of a true steamboat was somewhat rare in the Queen City, apart from occasional visits by the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen. The sight of 14 excursion vessels, including three true steamboats, created great excitement, with many references to the bygone era when the city’s public landing was lined with boats and flocks of people.

One particular vessel in attendance at that first Tall Stacks, the large excursion boat President, stirred nostalgia for many Cincinnatians. A former sidewheel steamboat, the President bore a striking resemblance to the Cincinnati-based steamer Island Queen that exploded at Pittsburgh 41 years before on September 9, 1947 (see The Waterways Journal, September 16, 2024). The community and surrounding areas mourned the loss of the Island Queen, with one news editorial headlined “The Queen Is Dead.” The President gliding through the local harbor seemed to some as if their beloved boat had somehow come back to life.

The President did have a history with the Queen City, since it was built as the packet Cincinnati in 1924. The Midland Barge Company, Midland, Pa., built the 285-foot by 45-foot steel hull, and the wooden superstructure was placed at Cincinnati. It was a double cabin packet (rooms on two levels) and very well outfitted. A set of compound, non-condensing engines, manufactured by Barnes of Cincinnati, turned the sidewheels. The engines were 27’s, 40’s with a nine-foot stroke. Owned by John W. Hubbard of Pittsburgh and operated by the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Company, the boat normally ran between Cincinnati and Louisville and made Mardi Gras trips to New Orleans between 1924 and 1930. It was prominent in the 1929 procession of steamboats from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Ill., celebrating the completion of the Ohio River lock and dam system.

In 2024, a second boat intended to run in conjunction with the Cincinnati (and to be named Louisville) was under construction at Midland, but Hubbard instead decided to sell the hull. The Coney Island Company bought the hull, which became the much-loved Island Queen. Economic conditions caused the Cincinnati to be sold to Streckfus Steamers Inc., St. Louis, in 1933. Streckfus tore the boat down to the hull at St. Louis and rebuilt it with a new metal superstructure. The six oil-burning boilers were placed down in the hull. It first ran at St. Louis during the summer months and tramped to New Orleans in the cooler months, but beginning in 1941, it was stationed full-time at New Orleans.

In 1978, it was converted to diesel with the installation of three Murray & Tregurtha Harbormaster units that delivered 2,000 hp. In 1981, it was sold to the New Orleans Steamboat Company. It was later sold to St. Louis River Cruises Inc. and once again operated at St. Louis. The trip to the Ohio Valley for the 1988 Tall Stacks was the last time the boat operated on the Ohio River. It became a casino at Davenport, Iowa, and was retired in 1999. In 2009, the boat was dismantled, with many large pieces moved to a vacant field near St. Elmo, Ill., with the intention of reassembling it into a hotel and convention center. Unfortunately, those plans never materialized.

The Tall Stacks event was repeated in 1992, 1995, 2003 and 2006. After 19 years, a reimagined version called America’s River Roots is taking place October 8–12, billed as celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. As with the festivals of the past, Cincinnati remains a very fitting scene for such a fête, with an attractive skyline on both sides and the river winding through several bridges, including the iconic Roebling Suspension Bridge dating to 1856 with a completion date of 1867.

While the President won’t be there to cause hearts to throb, there will be a group of nine excursion boats coming from as far away as New Orleans and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Two genuine steamboats will be in attendance, the 111-year-old Belle of Louisville and the 50-year-old Natchez, and all the attending vessels are beautiful in their own right.

Get out and enjoy the thrill of hearing the rare sound of steam whistles and calliope music. I know that I will!

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Featured photo caption: The President operating in New Orleans for Streckfus Steamers. (From the author’s collection)