Delta Queen- an American Icon de-commissioned

The Delta Queen is a legend on America's rivers, especially the famous river towns along the Mississippi, St. Louis, Memphis, Natchez, New Orleans. I worked at the Memphis Queen during college and saw the Queen dock at the mouth of the Memphis harbor dozens of times. And when I couldn't see it, I could hear the distinctive steam whistle or the old fashioned songs played on the boat's steam calliope. I saw the races between the big steamers and talked with passengers who became tourists in Memphis. There was a real feeling of history there.

Last year, the Feds forced the historic Queen to cease cruise operations due to potential fire hazards in the wooden cabins, and the Delta Queen was de-commissioned, never to transport overnight passengers again.

Memphis seems to get some bad press about the river front: the rather un-welcoming cobblestones fronting a still water harbor, and the lack of businesses close to the river banks, the maneuvering of developers and preservationists to control the future of Memphis' front steps.
What a great permanent attraction the Delta Queen would be near Beale Street Landing on Memphis' very historic riverfront. Once swarmed with steamboats loading thousands of bales of cotton grown in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta, a berth for the Queen would be in keeping with Memphis' history. Operating as a boutique hotel, perhaps, the Queen would be a great landmark to set Memphis apart from other cities and to capture our heritage.

Well, forget it folks. Yesterday the Commercial Appeal reported that Chattanooga Water Taxi and Fat Cat Ferry has leased the Queen to serve as hotel on the Chattanooga riverfront across from the Tennessee Aquarium.
Did our business and political leaders pursue the Delta Queen? Did anyone here know it was available? Or is it just easier to throw up another new synthetic stucco mini-hotel Downtown?