1969: A wild night on the Mississippi as the Becky Thatcher breaks free, and the Santa Maria sinks like a tub
A replica of Christopher Columbus’ sailing ship, the Santa Maria, arrived in downtown St. Louis on March 29, 1969. It wouldn't survive three months.
The vessel was to be another nod to the city’s brief history as a Spanish colony two centuries ago. But on June 28, 1969, a wild thunderstorm roared through St. Louis with tornadoes, 70 mph winds and two inches of rain. The storm broke the moorings of the Santa Maria and the old Becky Thatcher restaurant boat, carrying the boats two miles downstream. They crashed against a dock on the Illinois bank, and the Santa Maria sank like a tub.
June 28, 1969: The sinking of the Santa Maria
The Santa Maria
The Santa Maria, a replica of the sailing ship that Christopher Columbus took on his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean 1942, rests against the S.S. Admiral excursion steamer. The photo was taken on March 29, 1969, the day the Santa Maria was pushed upriver to the St. Louis Levee. Mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes, who was proud of his Spanish heritage, twisted the arms to some of his supporters to buy it at auction in Washington in a bidding war against one of the Rockefellers. Spain built the replica for the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Later, it failed as a tourist stop on the Potomac River in Washington. Towboats pushed the Santa Maria along the Intracoastal Waterway and up the Mississippi River, lashed to a tow of barges. Here, it awaits its masts and a permanent mooring on the cobblestone landing. (Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A closer view of the Santa Maria alongside the Admiral. (Lester Linck/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
An honor guard topside for the dedication of the Santa Maria as a tourist attraction on April 25, 1969. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
The St. Mary's High School band strikes up before the flag-raising. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
George C. Patterson, the first visitor to the Santa Maria, heads for the quarterdeck, the raised section at the stern, on April 25. The public came aboard beginning the next day. Admission was $1.10 for adults and 60 cents for children. Teachers and students on field trips boarded for free. (James Rackwitz/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A view of the opening ceremony from the bow. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A few of the people who took part in the christening banquet and ball for the Santa Maria on May 14, 1969. On deck with the ceremonial bottle of champagne is G. Ray Bardgett with his wife (at left) and Bettye Rose Levy Hochman. Because no one could reach the sharply sloped bow from the deck, the champagne was dropped into the Mississippi River. Mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes then led the partiers to the Mayan Room of the Bel Air East Hotel (now the Hampton Inn at the Arch). The mayor and his wife, Carmen, led them in dancing to "Spanish Eyes." Everyone was named an honorary admiral of the ship. (Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Robert Karsznia, representing the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization, presents an award to Mayor Cervantes during the christening banquet. (Lloyd Spainhower/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A lone guard is perched above the main deck, awash in Mississippi water on June 29, 1969, one day after a major thunderstorm broke the Santa Maria and the riverboat restaurant Becky Thatcher from their moorings on the Levee. They floated downstream together about two miles to near the Illinois bank, where the Santa Maria crashed into a dock that ripped a wide gash in its starboard (right) side. The ship quickly sank. All 100 aboard the Becky Thatcher were rescued without injury. (Larry Williams/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A diver returns from his inspection of damage to the sunken Santa Maria. He said the hole on the starboard side was big enough for him to walk through. (Ted Dargan/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
A bankside view of the sunken ship. (Larry Williams/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Workers salvage railings from the Santa Maria one week after the sinking. (Buell White/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Deckhands on a work barge monitor the slow task of raising the Santa Maria with cable slings on July 8, 1969. (Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
The battered Santa Maria at a boat repair yard at 611 East Marceau Street, in the Carondelet neighborhood, on July 18. (Lou Phillips/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Moved back upriver to the foot of Sidney Street and resting on a barge, the catastrophic damage is easy to see. (Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Another view of the damage that a river dock can inflict upon a drifting wooden ship on a stormy night. (Lester Linck/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
Still resting upon a barge at Sidney Street, the Santa Maria awaits repairs. Anthony F. Sansone, one of the group that brought the replica to St. Louis, said it still hoped to return it to the riverfront in seaworthy condition. "We're not going to give up," Sansone said in late September 1969. (Floyd Bowser/Post-Dispatch)
The Santa Maria
In July 1970, the Santa Maria was returned to the riverfront, supported by two barges, but never became the attraction that Cervantes had hoped for. In March 1973, a Florida promoter bought it and had it pushed downriver for one more try at drawing tourists. The Atlantic shore at Titusville, Fla., was a more appropriate place for a replica of a Spanish cargo ship, but it was gutted by fire on June 27, 1974. Said Cervantes, no longer mayor, "That is just an ill-fated ship." For a time, the ship's anchor rested near the old mooring site on the St. Louis landing. (James Rackwitz)
