S.S. United States to become a tourist attraction? [my title]

S.S. United States: An idea to bring a famous ocean liner to the waterfront is gathering steam

To many passers-by, the rusting, weather-beaten 990-foot-long ocean liner docked at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia is just an eyesore ready for the scrap heap. But to maritime buffs and Sean Joyce, a Chester native, and Jack Holefelder, head of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, the S.S. United States could be a major draw to a revitalized Chester waterfront.

Holefelder cited the successful tourist response to the USS New Jersey battleship in Camden, N.J., and the refurbished Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif.

The 50-year-old trans-Atlantic liner -- considered the pinnacle of passenger liner design in the 20th century -- was phased out in 1969 by the advent of jet travel. Since then, it has undergone a lackluster, financially troubled journey to its present berth on the Delaware River off Christopher Columbus Boulevard.

In 1996, the ship was towed back to U.S. waters in Philadelphia and it was purchased for about $6 million by Edward Cantor, a wealthy entrepreneur and developer from New Jersey. He died in February.

The current asking price for the mammoth cruise ship is $25 million, according to Robert Fair, spokesman for its owner, Cantor Companies in Linden, N.J.

It’s costing the company about $100,000 a month to keep the mothballed vessel docked at Pier 82, Fair said. That’s about $1,000 a day for dockage, plus other expenses such as a watchman and insurance, he said.

Fair is considering two offers, but he refused to discuss details, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The report indicated he hoped the company has an offer on the table within 120 days.

Fair has refused to confirm a report that Washington, D.C., developer Sam Bradstreet is interested.

Meanwhile, Fair confirmed a report that he discounted the possibility the ship could end up on the Chester waterfront.

Philadelphia hasn’t expressed any interest in the antiquated ocean liner, he said.

The S.S. United States is the largest passenger vessel ever built in the United States -- 108 feet longer and 9½ feet wider than the much touted HMS Titanic, which sank in 1912.

The S.S. United States in its maiden voyage in 1952 crossed the North Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 42 minutes. It holds the record for a ship in its class.

America’s flagship’s initial cost was $70 million when it was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News, Va.

Today, the cost of renovating the magnificent faded and peeling superstructure as a waterfront centerpiece is a big question mark. This depends upon its ultimate metamorphosis as either a floating hotel or cruise ship.

Holefelder, who began researching the ship’s background and potential about a year ago, said renovation estimates have ranged from $15 million to $50 million.

The initial asking price of the Maritime Administration was $12 million, but it was sold to Richard H. Hadley, a Seattle entrepreneur for $5 million. After transfer to Hadley, most of the fuel was pumped out and sold.

At the time it was reported the ship would cost roughly $150 million to refit. No major work was ever performed by the Hadley interests due to financial difficulties. His dreams of making it the world’s first condominium-style, time-share cruise ship had sunk.

The ocean liner has been reported as uneconomical to operate on the open sea because it consumes over 859 tons of fuel oil per day. High fuel consumption was necessary to achieve its tremendous top speed of 43 knots per hour (49.5 mph).

The mighty flagship has been virtually stripped of any souvenirs. In 1984, at one of the largest auctions in history to help pay for the ship’s mounting costs, almost everything removable was put up for sale, from dinnerware to whistles.

In 1992, U.S. marshals seized the S.S. United States and filed a court motion to sell the ship at auction. The ship was then towed to Istanbul, Turkey, where its interiors were gutted down to the metal bulkheads to remove its extensive asbestos material installed for fireproofing.

Maritime buff Joyce, who operates a Web site design company in Media for fire companies, www.firecompanies.com, wrote a letter to the Daily Times a week ago urging support of the project. It received about 500 e-mail responses, he said.

"Most of the people had more of a sentimental response: that they had seen it or been a passenger on it," said Joyce, of Wilmington, Del.

Local respondents "..thought it would be great for the local economy, if it was moored at the Chester waterfront," he said.

A graduate of St. James High School, the 30-year-old Joyce fondly recalled the days when he watched freighters and oil tankers on the Delaware River while visiting the Chester waterfront as a boy. His grandfather worked at the Sun Oil refinery in Marcus Hook.

Joyce said he got the idea for campaigning to bring the historic ship to Chester after noting the positive response to the initial unveiling of the Irish immigrants memorial in Chester at the former PECO Energy Co. generating plant.

He said he had contacted U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon’s office regarding the proposal, but his efforts were hampered by the fact it was election time.

Of course, they're talking of bringing a harness race track to Chester (on the site of the old Sun Shipbuilding yard on the east end). Meanwhile, that ex-power plant on the west end (mentioned in the article) is around the corner from the now demolished rowhouse that was home to my now deceased paternal grandparents.

foreverfree

When I was a kid in the '50's I got a paper model building kit of this ship, one where you punch out the parts and insert tab bb3 into hole BB3. It was tedious but the end product was impressive. And then 3 years ago I took my family back east and we happened to be driving east out of Philadelphia when I saw the stacks on the horizon and thought it looked like the USS United States. Sure enough. There is a great website with all the facts on this ship that you could find on Google. I don't have the link now. As an economic proposition it is probably doomed.

Oh wow! When I was a little kid and moved to France, we went there on that ship. My mother was the ping-pong champion of the journey and I had a model of the ship for years. I hope I still have it; it's probably buried in a box somewhere. That sure brings back memories. I hadn't thought of that ship in awhile.

interiors were gutted down to the metal bulkheads

It doesn't sound like it has much of a future as a tourist attraction if there is nothing left to see except bare metal.

In 1953 the SS United States was brought in to the Norfolk Naval Ship Yard (NNSY) for some repairs. For those not familiar with this installation it is actually loacted in Portsmouth, Virginia on the site of the old Gosport Navy Yard which dates back to the colonial period. If memory serves me correctly she was placed into Dry Dock No. 1 (the oldest dry dock in the U.S.). That was located directly behind the quarters at the Marine Barracks (long gone since the early 1960s) and from those quarters you could see the huge bows of this liner rising above all the other nearby structures. It gave the impression that she was sailing right on throught the concrete and steel of the navy yard and headed directly for our quarters. These photographs were evidently taken at that time.

http://www.ss-united-states.com/dry1D2.html

The web site is:

http://www.ss-united-states.com/

I've followed this story for some time, and the SS US is truly an eyesore. When they say she was stripped, they mean it. It's bare metal inside, and mostly rust on the outside.

But she's still magnificent, if faded. Assuming she's seaworthy, there might be some profit in refitting her for the Caribbean cruise trade.

It would take a looooootttt of work and a loooooottttt of loot. But to lose her would be a tragedy.

There are numerous sites on the web where her story is told.

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