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. For nearly a century, the vessel has served many purposes. It started out as a life-saving station, the third facility on the same site since 1881. Afterward, it became a U.S. Coast Guard group headquarters and inspection station. Finally, it served as a 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.
1989
In June 1989, the Mayor Andrew Broaddus joined the Belle of Louisville in becoming a National Historic Landmark.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1881
The first inland Life-Saving Station was established at the foot of Second Street in Louisville on November 4, 1881.