'Cursed' Showboat Majestic now facing violations

For her first 95 or so years, the Showboat Majestic drew attention as the last active floating theater in America.

Now, in her 100th year, the once-mighty Majestic is drawing attention as an endangered icon of Americana in violation of state and federal regulations.

Moored and essentially marooned near Portsmouth, Ohio – her fourth home on the Ohio River since the city of Cincinnati sold her in early 2019 – the Majestic is facing a "very grim future," in the words of one showboat enthusiast tracking her travails.

At least three government agencies, alerted to the Majestic’s current location and condition by those enthusiasts, have told owner Joe Brumley he is breaking contracts that dictate the boat's operations.

Brumley, a 39-year-old resident of Winchester, Ohio, who has worked in real estate as an agent and investor, has not responded and they have not taken further action.

Reached by phone, Brumley said “Don’t call me” and hung up. He also did not respond to emails requesting comment.

Said one member of a Facebook page called Save the Showboat Majestic: “It is like she has been cursed since she left Cincinnati.”

Owner ignoring Majestic edicts

Built in 1923 in Pittsburgh, the Majestic came to Downtown’s Public Landing in 1967 when the city of Cincinnati became her owner. For the next five decades, the showboat entertained local audiences, with college students and then professional producers staging the shows.

Managed by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission and then Cincinnati Parks, the city eventually decided the Majestic was too costly to maintain and sold her at auction in 2019 for just over $110,000.

When he bought the Majestic with his former wife and two other partners, Brumley signed contracts dictating how he’d operate the property and where he would locate it. He has not adhered to either.

Majestic ‘not in condition for public access’

Brumley inherited one of the contracts – a March 2007 "covenant" mandating Majestic owners “in perpetuity” to:

• Maintain the vessel.

• Open it to the public at least 12 days a year.

• Win approval from the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office – the holder of the covenant – for any physical changes to the boat.

The city entered that agreement to win a $150,000 Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service, which it then matched with cash and services.

“The responsibilities of the city of Cincinnati are now Mr. Brumley’s responsibilities,” said Diane Welling, director of the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office.

Welling’s office is among the Majestic watchers that believe Brumley is not holding up his part of the bargain.

The state office and its parent, the Ohio History Connection, “have significant concerns about the current conditions of the Showboat Majestic,” an April 2023 letter to Brumley read. The letter requested access to inspect the boat “as soon as possible.”

Brumley did not reply, Welling said. “We’ve received nothing from him.”

National Park Service contacted Brumley, by phone, around the same time, likewise concerned he was not complying with the 2007 agreement.

“The owner provided an update on work completed to secure the vessel and begin its rehabilitation,” said Rachel Franklin-Weekley, manager of the federal agency’s historic preservation partnerships. “At that time, the ship was not in a condition to allow safe public access. “

Notice of violation ‘under investigation’

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency charged with granting permits for U.S. waterways, took interest in the Majestic more recently, alerted by the other government groups.

In October, the Army Corps sent Brumley a “notice of violation,” essentially for illegal parking. At that time, the Corps believed the Majestic was moored near Maysville, Kentucky, without a permit.

“The Showboat Majestic is currently an undocumented vessel in navigable waters of the United States, without proper moorings, appears to be abandoned, neglected and is in a state of deterioration,” the notice dated Oct. 12 read. “This unauthorized activity is under investigation.”

The letter also threatened a lawsuit and fines, while inviting Brumley to apply for a new permit to remain in Maysville.

By the time the Corps sent that, however, Brumley had relocated the Majestic. It wasn’t the boat’s only new address in recent years.

The boat’s first post-Cincinnati home was in Adams County, near Manchester. Two years later, it was in New Richmond in Clermont County. After about a year and half there, it was in Maysville. Since last summer, the Majestic has been moored near Portsmouth, Ohio, in Scioto County.

Brumley’s sole permit granted him permission to dock in New Richmond, according to the Corps’ notice of violation.

Like the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service, the Corps of Engineers has apparently taken no additional steps to hold Brumley accountable for the care of the Majestic.

Asked whether Brumley responded or the Corps took further action, spokesman Brian Maka said: "I don't have anything on that."

Majestic fans want ‘save’ or sale

Jay Black, a sound engineer who lives in Bedford, Indiana, leads the Majestic enthusiasts. Black’s affection for the showboat dates to childhood, when his family camped along the Ohio River and he attended his first Majestic show.

He created the Save the Showboat Majestic Facebook page in 2015, shortly after Cincinnati lost its production company for shows. “It became a mission – a mission to save the showboat."

Excited when Brumley bought the boat, Black thinks it now needs a new owner.

“I’m trying to get Joe to take care of the boat or consider selling the boat,” Black said.

Dean Love had alternative ideas for Brumley. A Columbus native now working as a filmmaker in New York, Love wanted to feature the Majestic in a documentary he’s making about showboats. Later, he suggested producing a reality show that tracked a renovation of the Majestic. After early interest, Brumley turned down both offers, Love said.

“It’s really a shame what he’s done to it,” Love said.

Alex Schuchter, a riverboat captain who lives in Alexandria, Kentucky, started helping Brumley in 2020. He traveled to West Virginia to pick up the Majestic's current towboat, then helped tow the boat twice. He also assisted with general maintenance.

He stopped helping in the middle of 2023.

“I am no longer associated with Joe Brumley or the Majestic, as it has begun to have a negative impact on my reputation amongst the river community,” he said.

‘Looks like he left it’

Schuchter, like Black and Love, is concerned about the current state of the Majestic, sitting near the mouth of the Scioto River on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.

Love captured photos of the boat, by drone, during Thanksgiving week. They show the vessel and its towboat listing into the Ohio River, its tether to the shore not visible.

“It looks like he just left it there,” Black said.

The Majestic is a hazard to itself and other vessels, all three men said. It could be buffeted by river debris and changing water levels. It could be hit by a barge. It could break loose and float in any direction.

The boat is already in decline, Schuchter said, with rust, rotted wood, leaks and holes. “It looks like a very grim future for the showboat.”

Brumley maintains that the Majestic is his business – and not open to questions from Facebook fans or anyone else.

“It’s private property,” he wrote, under the name Scioto Valley, on the Save the Majestic page in December. “Attack someone else please, and stay away from my boats.”

Brumley also deflected talk of selling the Majestic.

“You know it’s not for sale,” he said, also in December, responding to a poster saying she wanted to buy the Majestic for a "BYOB strip club." “For something like that I’d have to have $1.4 million. I’d have to have all my investment to sell out.”

In recent months, Brumley also talked about turning the Majestic into an event space or comedy club, Black, Love and Schuchter said. When he bought the boat, he'd planned to continue to book shows, according to a website launched just after the sale.

Point Pleasant would be homecoming

Early on, Thomas Reynolds Sr. moored the Majestic, his third such vessel, in his Ohio River hometown of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. He and his family performed on and managed the boat until he sold it to Indiana University in 1959.

Point Pleasant would be happy to have it back, according to James McCormick, director of the Point Pleasant River Museum.

Fresh from raising about $1.5 million for the museum – the 30-year-old facility had to be rebuilt following a 2018 fire – McCormick said he’s willing to now find funds to refurbish the Majestic. The boat could either once again stage shows or be docked a block from the museum as a historical exhibit.

“We will take on that task but we cannot do it without money,” he said.

Brumley told McCormick he’s not interested in selling the Majestic, but might be interested in moving it to Point Pleasant.

“We are 100% committed,” McCormick said, “but I’m not sure the gentleman is going to let loose.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Where is the Showboat Majestic? Boat enthusiasts worry for its future