March 4, 2018
Joan Crawford boards America's Flagship.
Courtesy of John Gustave Kunze.
Will you be watching the Oscars tonight?

When the SS United States debuted in 1952, she was an instant star. America's Flagship would go on to appear on the covers of Newsweek and the New Yorker and steal the show on the silver screen, including in Walt Disney's 1962 film, Bon Voyage!

The SS United States was also the liner of choice for a star-studded list of passengers. During her service career, she carried at least 46 Oscar nominees and winners, including Leonard Bernstein, Marlon Brando, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, David O. Selznick, Sir Laurence Olivier, Elizabeth Taylor, Tennessee Williams and Walt Disney himself, who holds the record for the most Academy Awards wins and nominations.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the SS United States' role as a true American icon of glamour, design and engineering.
Cary Grant (center) surrounded by admirers aboard the Big U. Courtesy of John Gustave Kunze.
Marlon Brando, with artist Salvador Dali, relaxing on board. Courtesy of John Gustave Kunze.
Help Us Save America's Flagship!
African-American porters and restaurant captains aboard the SS  United States .
Photographs by Albert W. Durant. 
Looking back at Black History Month, the SS United States Conservancy is excited to showcase a series of spectacular black and white photographs by Albert W. Durant , Williamsburg, Virginia’s first African-American city-licensed photographer, now housed in our permanent curatorial collections . 
African-American cooks and galley help pose behind the ship's galley counter.
Restaurant captains stand behind a large
cake shaped like the SS United States .
Durant's photographs were taken during the ship's top-secret trial runs in early 1952, and largely depict African-American kitchen staff and stewards aboard the SS United States . Although vital to the seamless operation of America's Flagship, the behind-the-s cenes staff of the vessel were infrequent subjects for most onboard photographers, making Durant's photographs an invaluable record of shipboard life .

Born in 1920, Albert W. Durant produced hundreds of portraits documenting the families and activities of African-American residents in and around Williamsburg, and capturing significant events, places and persons. The photographer also worked to improve conditions for African-Americans by serving in various positions in the city's government, including as the city's first black Justice of the Peace and Bail Commissioner and first black magistrate of the General District Court.
Portrait of photographer Albert W. Durant. Courtesy of Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the pioneering work of Albert W. Durant and to see more photographs taken by Durant aboard the SS United States.
"The [SS United States ] is more than a superlative achievement of American engineering. She stands for dreaming big...and for the human ability to accomplish."
 — Margaret Stack, Philadelphia, PA
Photographs by Anders Johannesson.
Periodically, Conservancy members will reach out to us, mentioning that they've made a donation in the past but cannot remember when their membership is up for renewal. One simple way to handle this is to convert your annual membership donation to automatic monthly giving! You'll still receive all membership benefits and an annual letter summarizing your tax-deductible contributions.

Here's how to set it up: When you donate online you'll see a checkbox below your donation amount, reading "make this a monthly donation." Select that checkbox, and whatever dollar amount you enter will automatically be deducted each month. Just $6 a month from every newsletter subscriber would be enough to cover the ship's monthly upkeep at her Philadelphia pier, including dockage, insurance, security and vessel maintenance costs!
However you choose to give, your contributions are what keep America's Flagship safely afloat and allow the Conservancy to continue our vital work to preserve and honor the legacy of this incredible vessel. Learn more about automatic monthly giving HERE and make your donation today.
The Conservancy's mission includes celebrating and honoring the many extraordinary men and women who traveled and worked aboard the SS United States. In February, we paid tribute to United States Lines' Commodore Leroy John Alexanderson, who was master of the ship for the last five years of her service career.

Alexanderson passed away on the 28th of February, 2004, at the age of 93, and was buried in the uniform he wore as commodore and captain of the SS United States. CLICK HERE to read more about his journey from young student at the New York Merchant Marine Academy to fleet commodore of United States Lines.
Commodore Leroy J. Alexanderson.
Courtesy of Oceanliners Magazine.
"[The SS United States ] was built at a time when 'made in America’ really meant something, and that is a legacy that cannot be lost.  — H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, Blue Riband Council