New Donation Honors Champion of Big U's Legacy

The Conservancy’s curatorial collection continues to expand as we advance our museum development plans. Earlier this year, we were thrilled to receive a donation of one of artist Peter Otsuni's applied enamel-on-copper sand paintings which once adorned the ship's First Class "Navajo Lounge" to add to our collection of original artwork from the ship's iconic mid-century modern interiors.

Another major addition to our collection was recently gifted by Conservancy co-founder and advisory council member Mark Perry, who has granted original and sentimental items from the SS United States to the Conservancy on permanent loan. 

These items include original furnishings — three deck chairs with detachable pillows, three steamer rugs, and the coffee table from the Captain's reception room. They were donated in loving memory of Joe Rota, and Jim and Frieda Green.

A family lounging on the SS United States' deck chairs. Courtesy of United States Lines.

Joe Rota worked aboard the SS United States for years, advancing from an elevator operator to a bellboy among other roles before becoming the ship’s photographer. A founding Conservancy board member, he championed the preservation of the ship’s legacy. In 2021, Joe shared recollections from his career to be preserved in our oral history archive – listen to his vivid stories here.

Commodore Anderson with William Francis Gibbs in the Captain's reception room.

Courtesy of Charles Anderson.

Jim and Frieda Green were featured in the 2008 award-winning documentary, "SS United States: A Lady in Waiting." In one of the film's most moving scenes, Jim and Frieda recall meeting and falling in love aboard the Big U. The Greens were frequent passengers on the SS United States, and generously donated their family photos to be preserved as part of our future museum's collection.

Jim and Frieda Green, pictured with friends in the SS United States' First-Class "Navajo Lounge." Courtesy of Jim Green.

Mark is currently producing our forthcoming documentary film, “Superliner: the Enduring Legacy of the SS United States.” This highly-anticipated feature-length film will premier later this year. If you haven't already, watch the film’s new trailer here!

We are so grateful for these generous additions to our collection, and we will be announcing another exciting acquisition next month. We look forward to displaying all of these special pieces of SS United States' history in our future museum.