On July 3, 1952, a crowd of over 13,000 gathered around Pier 86 on Manhattan’s Luxury Liner Row. In awe and admiration, young and old, they gazed upon a modern marvel. At 990 feet, the SS United States was over 100 feet longer than the RMS Titanic. If stood on one end, she’d have measured up to the iconic Chrysler Building.
Read MoreA Canadian design student with a passion for ocean liners, Riley Bugg discovered the SS United States Conservancy the same way many people today learn about new things - through social media. While Riley had been interested in ocean liners for a number of years, it was an ad on Facebook about the Conservancy’s work to save America’s Flagship that piqued his interest further.
Read MoreDocked along Columbus Avenue on the Philadelphia waterfront since 1996, America’s Flagship is a recognizable landmark for residents of south Jersey and the City of Brotherly love. Driving across the Walt Whitman Bridge to visit her grandmother in south Philadelphia, Ashley Latrella would gaze upon the SS United States with wonder and fascination.
Read MoreStephen Bloom’s passion for ocean liners started as a child, after reading about the maiden voyage of another famous vessel, the Titanic. Bloom’s parents had traveled on board the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), and Stephen had cruised on the SS Norway (formerly the SS France). Fascinated with ships, Stephen Bloom’s first interaction with the SS United States came when he built a model of the Blue Riband holder during his youth.
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Of all the great ship designers, perhaps none is more inextricably linked to a single, exceptional vessel, than William Francis Gibbs and the SS United States. Yet to focus entirely on this culminating achievement, this manifestation of his ‘big ship’ ideal, is to miss out on the life of an extraordinary and complex man.
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