The battle to save the SS United States, one of America’s most historic ships, which spent most of its career traveling between New York City and Southampton, England, continues. The SS United States Conservancy transferred ownership of the SS United States to Okaloosa County, Florida in order to convert the ship into the world’s largest artificial reef.
The Conservancy had failed in its effort to raise $500,000 to help cover the costs of preservation and reloceation from its pier in Philadelphia where it has sat virtually abandoned for decades.
The SS United States was launched in 1951 as the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United States, and still holds the transatlantic speed record, achieved on her maiden voyage using only two-thirds of her power. When she landed at Southhampton, some 70,000 people were on hand to witness its arrival.
The ship transported presidents, stars of stage and screen, heads of state, tourists, members of the armed forces, and immigrants until the advent of the jet age forced her retirement in 1969.
The SS United States was scheduled to leave the Pier 82 in Philadelphia on November 12th to be taken to Mobile, Alabama and prepared for sinking, a process expected to take several months. However, the U.S. Coast Guard has delayed the ship’s departure from Philadelphia on the grounds that it is not seaworthy.
John Quadrozzi, Jr, the owner of the Gowanus Bay Terminal in Red Hook, has proposed that the ship be acquired from Okaloosa County and brought to Brooklyn and put on display. Quadrozzi has said the ship could be re-imagined to feature residences and commercial spaces.
Supporters of the plan point to similar ships such as the Queen Mary in Long Beach California, the Queen Elizabeth in Dubai, and the Rotterdam in the Netherlands that have been successful repurposed as floating hotels and tourist attractions.
Quadorzzi and his backers, including members of the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, have formed the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States in a last ditch effort to prevent the ship from being sunk off Florida. Among the Coalition’s arguments is that Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act precludes the historic vessel from being destroyed with out a public hearing and consideration of alternatives.
New York City Councilwoman Gayle Brewer has introduced a resolution in City Council supporting the Coalition’s efforts and a hearing is planned for early January.
“The loss to New York and the nation of this great maritime artifact would be incalculable,” said James S. Kaplan, who is chair of the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, Director of the New York Coalition to Save the Steamship United States, and a regular contributor to New York Almanack.
“We urge all New Yorkers and all Americans to support the efforts of the New York Coalition to Save the Steam Ship Untied States and their public representatives to save this great ship that was the pride of American engineering and could be a critical part of a revitalized Brooklyn Waterfront,” Kaplan told the Almanack.
Fore more information email Kaplan at Jskaplanesq@gmail.com.
Learn more about New York State’s maritime history.
Illustrations from above: SS United States at the Pier in Philadelphia, 2024 (CBS); and the SS United States arrives in New York Harbor, New York City, 1952.
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