Once upon a time, the United States was a can-do country. In 2025, we are celebrating the bicentennial of the completion of the Erie Canal begun in 1817 in Rome, New York. The Marquis de Lafayette in his return trip to the United States in 1824-1825 actually traveled portions of the Erie Canal in June 1825. The American Friends of Lafayette will be celebrating that journey from Niagara Falls to Albany next month.
The completion of the Erie Canal launched an extended period of achievements eventually culminating in the landing on the moon. America was in the forefront of technological achievement. The opening of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, at the eastern end of the Erie Canal before it reached the Hudson River was one spinoff of the construction. The top engineers were drawn to the building of the Canal.
For more than a century to come, the United States was the place to be at the forefront of technological development.
One construction which has not received the attention it deserves is the SS United States. It was built in 1950-1951. The ship set a speed record for trans-Atlantic travel breaking the records for travel both ways, from here to Europe and from Europe to the United States. It did not simply break the records, it shattered them by more than ten hours, a truly gigantic amount of time. Truly it was a marvel of its time surpassing the speeds of two British ships, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth.
On its return to New York, the SS United States was welcomed by tens of thousands of people. She was escorted into New York City by bands, helicopters, and small boats. There was a ticker tape parade with an estimated audience of 150,000.
Despite all the glamor of its passenger list, it had the grave misfortune never to hit an iceberg. Its end as a passenger ship was to the development of another technological marvel, the jet plane. The SS United States could not compete with jet travel. Finally, in November 1969, it was hermetically sealed and dehumidified by the United States Navy, to ensure a minimum of degradation. Through the long idle years it remained in remarkably good condition. When the ship was sealed all furniture, fittings, and crew uniforms were left in place.
In June 1970, SS United States was moved across the James River to the Norfolk International Terminal in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1973, the owner the United States Line (USL) transferred ownership of the vessel to the United States Maritime Administration.
Over the years, various machinations occurred with multiple owners and dreams including a short-stint in Turkey. All the plans came to naught. In 1999, the SS United States Foundation and the SS United States Preservation Society, Inc. (which would later become the SS United States Conservancy) succeeded in having the ship placed on the National Register of Historic Places. That means alterations are subject to the restrictions of being a registered historic place.
In 2009, the SS United States Conservancy was formed to save the ship by raising funds to purchase her. One year later, the Conservancy announced a plan to develop a “multi-purpose waterfront complex” with hotels, restaurants, and a casino along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. That plan also fell through. Finally in 2011, the Conservancy purchased the SS United States from NCL. The group had funds to last 20 months that went to de-toxification and plans to make the ship financially independent, possibly as a hotel or other development project. Conservancy executive director Dan McSweeney stated that possible locations for the ship included Philadelphia, New York City, and Miami.
Various plans continued to be put forward. Donations continued to be received to pay for the docking in Philadelphia. Finally time ran out. On September 12, 2024, the Court ordered the SS United States to be evicted. Now it was a homeless vessel continuing to deteriorate. After some legal maneuverings, in October 2024, Okaloosa County, Florida, swooped in and purchased the ship for $1 million. It would be sunk as an artificial reef, an ignominious end to the once proud flagship of the American fleet.
That ending did not go over well with a diehard group of SS United States enthusiasts. They formed the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States. It includes the aforementioned Dan McSweeney, the Conservancy executive director (and myself). A pier has been located in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn opposite the Brooklyn Navy Yard where it could be docked. There it would become an East coast version of the Queen Mary as a hotel and museum.
Admittedly this quixotic effort to save the SS United States from swimming with the fishes is a longshot one. But this onetime flagship of the American fleet and symbol of American technological prowess deserves a fate better than being drowned without ever having hit an iceberg.
Make America Great Again. Save the SS United States.
