Conrad to renovate riverboat honoring Louis Armstrong

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Staff Report
New Orleans jazz legend Louis Armstrong will be honored on a riverboat that is set to be repurposed and renovated at Conrad Shipyard in Amelia starting later this month.
The riverboat, owned and operated by Tropicana on the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana, will soon claim the Mississippi River in New Orleans as its new home, a news release said. The riverboat, currently named City of Evansville, has been in operation since 1995. It will be repurposed for a music and entertainment venue and renamed, Riverboat Louis Armstrong.
The announcement was made Nov. 1 by Warren Reuther Jr., president and CEO of Hospitality Enterprises New Orleans, which owns and operates the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen.
Riverboat Louis Armstrong will be the largest riverboat in the region at 310 feet long, 70 feet wide and four decks high, the release said.
The boat, built by Jeffboat in Jeffersonville, Indiana, will travel to Conrad’s deepwater shipyard in Amelia.
In late November, the riverboat should arrive in Amelia and renovations should be complete by mid-2018. It will then be renamed Riverboat Louis Armstrong.
“We’re excited to be a part of this new venture coming to New Orleans, and it should be quite an attraction for everybody to enjoy,” said Gary Lipely, Conrad Shipyards director of marketing and sales.
Riverboat Louis Armstrong is licensed for 3,000 passengers and “will allow much flexibility to feature local and national talent, from intimate trios to popular headliners,” the release said.
In preparation for its trip to New Orleans, its 98-foot smokestacks are being removed while in Evansville to allow for bridge clearance on its journey to Amelia.
Once renovations and marine inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard are complete, the Riverboat Louis Armstrong will be moored where the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen currently docks at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and Riverwalk.
Reuther recalls hearing and reading about Armstrong when the jazz musician was 14-18 years old going to the river with his trumpet, hopping on one of the Streckfus Steamers as a deckhand, and scurrying to sneak among the jazz musicians for a chance to play his trumpet with them, the release said.
“Jazzing on the river is what we want to recapture on the Mississippi River in New Orleans,” Reuther said.
While its emphasis will be on jazz, Riverboat Louis Armstrong will offer New Orleans locals and visitors opportunities to enjoy music of all genres, from traditional jazz to contemporary pop, and from classical to rhythm and blues on four decks of entertainment, the release said.
“Jazz music is such an important reason why people visit New Orleans from all over the world, and until now, there has really been no venue big enough that allows visitors to experience large scale music on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans,” Reuther said.
“We want the Riverboat Louis Armstrong to bring the music of its soul and the vibrancy of the river region together, just as Mr. Armstrong performed on a riverboat in New Orleans,” Reuther said.
The pièce de résistance will be a Riverboat Louis Armstrong Foundation Room on the third level with Satchmo memorabilia on display. Visitors will learn about his life and career through his music and the instruments he played, the news release said.