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NEW PHOTOS OF SHIP'S FUNNELS SAVED FOR

FUTURE MUSEUM INSTALLATION

As many supporters know, both of the SS United States’ iconic funnels were recently removed by Florida’s Okaloosa County’s team of contractors from Coleen Marine to be saved for the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience. The funnels remain the largest ever installed on an ocean liner — at 65 feet, they are as tall as a six-story building.

During the construction of the SS United States, the funnels were lifted onto the ship in two pieces. The original lift drawings from Gibbs and Cox were referenced to plan the funnels’ removal. Page & Jones expertly facilitated the handling and logistics of this challenging undertaking alongside CORE Industries, which managed the offloading and transportation of the ship’s funnels to a secure storage location within the port facility of CORE Industries. We are very grateful for these partners who managed this complex project with great care.

The removal of the funnels was a complex and intricate operation: When moved, the ship’s forward funnel weighed 62.5 tons, or more than 125,000 pounds. The aft funnel was removed while joined to a section of the superstructure, weighing over 104 tons or 208,200 pounds.

These stunning elements of the SS United States will be secured at Core Industries' facility in Theodore, Alabama until their installation as key design features of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience.

Click here to see more photos

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL SUPPORTERS LECTURE

The Conservancy is thrilled to be hosting journalist Doug Most for a special book talk on Wednesday, September 17 at 7pm (eastern) on Zoom. As the author of the recently-published Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships that Took America to War, Doug will join us to discuss the complex design plans, created by William Francis Gibbs and his firm, that allowed Liberty ships to be built fast and repaired anywhere, greatly increasing the number of ships available to help win World War II.

We are excited to hear more about this monumental era of ship-building history and how it informed the subsequent emergence of the SS United States. To register to attend this Zoom lecture, please click HERE.

Doug Most published an excerpt of Launching Liberty as a fascinating essay, “Crossing the Atlantic During Britain’s Darkest Hour in World War II” describing a 1940 journey by the RMS Scythia from Liverpool to New York, with passengers and crew on high alert for an attack at sea from German submarines. To read this riveting piece, click HERE. To purchase your copy of Launching Liberty, click HERE.

SS UNITED STATES CELEBRATED IN CONCERT

The band Jimmy and the Parrots paid homage to SS United States at a recent concert in New Jersey, playing lead singer Jimmy Maraventano’s song “Symbol of America.” Watch MageeMedia’s video of the fantastic performance below.

Jimmy and the Parrots perform at an outdoor concert accompanied by photos of the SS United States

Bill Magee, a brilliant videographer who has documented the Conservancy's events and announcements for over fifteen years, first connected with Jimmy Maraventano in South Philadelphia at our July 2010 celebration of H.R. "Gerry" Lenfest’s $5.8 million pledge to the Conservancy. The band’s rendition of this song also featured in Robert Radler's film “SS United States: Made in America.”

Fifteen years ago, Jimmy Maraventano performed the song on a supporters cruise to view the SS United States when she was docked in Philadelphia. To watch his solo performance, click HERE.

NEW DESIGN FROM A PHILADELPHIA ARTIST

The Conservancy commissioned Skullduggary Studio in Philadelphia to design a colorful rendition of the salt and pepper shakers used on United States Lines ships. This new shirt is part of a collection inspired by our most recent digital exhibition, “Food Tastes Better at Sea: Dining Aboard the SS United States.”

You can purchase this fun red, white, and blue t-shirt HERE.

To see more work from Skullduggary Studio, please visit their Facebook or Instagram pages.

MENUS AND MEMORIES FROM THE BIG U

“Heart of Louisiana” featured the stories of several families who traveled on the SS United States during her last year of service. Like many other former passengers, the Rathle family immortalized their transatlantic travel on the Big U with memorabilia saved from the journey.

For this family and many others, the Big U is more than an ocean liner, “it’s a vessel of personal memories from journeys taken more than half a century ago.” To read more about the Rathle family’s journey on the SS United States and their recent visit to the ship, click HERE.

Menu from July 1963 SS United States voyage. Courtesy of Elka Grisham

Photo of the SS United States taken in the late 1950s courtesy of Margaret L. Smith

Country Roads Magazine featured the SS United States and former passenger Pam Paflas in a travelog about maritime attractions in the Mobile, AL area. Aboard the Perdido Queen tour of the Big U, Paflas reminisced about her family’s sixteen-day cruise to the West Indies and showed off her collection of sixty-year-old dinner menus she has treasured since her travels. To read the full article, HERE.

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