On July 3, 1952--72 years ago last week--the ocean liner S.S. United States began its maiden voyage, from New York Harbor to Southampton, England.
The ship--over 100 feet longer
than the Titanic--was taken out of service seventeen years later, in 1969. Its ownership subsequently changed hands a few times, through the years. In 1996, most of
its interior having been gutted, it was moved to a berth on the
Philadelphia waterfront, where it has since remained. I was given a tour
of the ship in 2000, by a representative of Edward Cantor, its
then-owner.
I've written periodically about the ship, in this space, in that it plays a part in my book about early television.
Five days before its 1952 maiden voyage, the NBC program Your Hit Parade
was telecast from throughout the ship. The show was the television
program's last broadcast of the 1951-1952 season. The telecast was also my
mother's last appearance on the program.
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| New York Times story, June 22, 1952 |
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Hit Parade rehearsal photo, on S.S. United States, June, 1952; bandleader Raymond Scott, center, conducting the Lucky Strike Orchestra. Announcer Andre Baruch stands at left side of photo. |
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| Hit Parade Dancers, including Virginia Conwell and Lenny Claret (center couple), rehearsing on deck of S.S. United States, June, 1952 |
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| NBC cameraman at S.S. United States, rehearsal photo, June, 1952 |
From 2003 to 2009, the ocean liner was owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, which had acquired the ship from owner Edward Cantor's estate, after Mr. Cantor's 2002 death. The cruise line planned on rehabilitating the ship, and making it seaworthy again; the plan was later abandoned .
In 2011, following a $3 million gift from Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, the S.S. United States Conservancy, a group devoted to the ship's history, and its preservation, bought the ship, and has sought, for years, to find ways to repurpose it. The Conservancy has contemplated turning the ship into a mixed-use site--such as, say, a stationary hotel, along with other hospitality, event, and museum spaces. The efforts have not been successful.
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| S.S. United States, at its Philadelphia waterfront berth, 2000 |
A June court decision handed the Conservancy a victory, but also a significant defeat. The organization had been in litigation with the ship's waterfront landlord, Penn Warehousing and Distribution, which in 2021 doubled the daily $850 rental fee for the ship's berth on the Delaware River. The Conservancy refused to pay the higher rent, arguing, as a USA Today story reported, "that their lease...had no provisions for sudden and unilateral rent hikes."
The Federal Judge hearing the case agreed, regarding the rental issue--but also ordered that the ship leave its waterfront berth by this September 12th.
The Conservancy has therefore undertaken a fundraising campaign to find a new home for the ocean liner--temporarily, or permanently, largely in the East, and the Mid-Atlantic region. If a new site cannot be found, the Conservancy may be forced to sell the historic ship for scrap--or, have the ship sunk, to create an artificial reef.
Here is the Facebook page for the Conservancy:
https://www.facebook.com/SSUSC
(1952 S.S. United States photos, © Lost Gold Entertainment, Inc.; 2000 photograph of ship, © Jenny Lynn)
(The above piece was lightly edited, in the hours after its posting.)
