Mayor Andrew Broaddus

Not just our ticket office, the Broaddus is a National Historic Landmark too!

A.k.a. Life-Saving #10

You may know it as the Belle of Louisville Riverboats Ticket Office, but you probably didn’t know the Mayor Andrew Broaddus, also known as Life Saving Station #10, is also a National Historic Landmark with a history all its own. Throughout its almost 100 years of history, the vessel has served as a life-saving station, U.S. Coast Guard group headquarters and inspection station and river police facility before becoming the wharf vessel and ticket office for the Belle of Louisville. Today she is the only remaining inland Life-Saving Station in the United States – truly a one-of-a-kind reminder of the importance of the Life-Saving Service and a testament to the many heroic men and women who served on her.

History of the Mayor Andrew Broaddus

1881

The first inland Life-Saving Station was established at the foot of Second Street in Louisville on November 4, 1881.

1902

The wooden hull of the first Life-Saving Station wore out and was replaced in 1902 by one built by the Howard Shipyards at Jeffersonville.

1915

The Life-Saving Service and other Federal agencies blended to become the United States Coast Guard. Added responsibilities caused LSS #10 to become a group headquarters and inspection station (#276) for the new Coast Guard while life-saving operations continued.

1929

The second wooden-hulled station wore out and was replaced in 1929 with a steel-hulled boat built at Dubuque, Iowa, the vessel you can see today.

1972

In the 1960s and 1970s, as the demand for Coast Guard assistance in search and rescue diminished severely, budget cuts caused Life-Saving Station #10 to be decommissioned on October 1, 1972.

1970s

After being decommissioned in 1972, Life Saving Station #10 was transferred to the City of Louisville and Jefferson County and renamed the Mayor Andrew Broaddus, serving as a river police facility through the 1970s.

1981

In 1981, the City of Louisville moved the vessel slightly downriver to the foot of Fourth Street to become the wharfboat for the historic steamboat, the Belle of Louisville.

1989

In June 1989, the Mayor Andrew Broaddus joined the Belle of Louisville in becoming a National Historic Landmark.