Historic vessel SS United States-a 990-foot ship that once toted the likes of President John F. Kennedy, Salvador Dali and Elizabeth Taylor-is in danger of being sold for scrap metal if preservation group SS United States Conservancy doesn't raise enough funds to save it.
The Conservancy is run by executive director Susan Gibbs, whose grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed SS United States.
Contributors have added to the pot by purchasing a piece of the ship at one dollar a square foot, and although their group has made one million dollars through their website, along with a series of fundraisers, they still need money-and quickly. To keep the ship alive, they must raise $500,000.
"We've made progress on the fundraising side and the redevelopment side," Gibbs told the Associated Press. "Our immediate goal is to buy some time."
The ship is currently moored on the Philadelphia waterfront, where it has been docked for decades. Dan McSweeney, head of redevelopment efforts for the coalition, claims it costs 80,000 dollars a month simply to house the SS United States, maintain fundamental upkeep, and pay for insurance.
This financial pressure has led the group to reconsider their benefactor base, returning to the drawing board in efforts to get funds from the big guys-namely: corporations, politicians, and prominent businesspeople.
"We continue to have active discussions with potential partners, we have ideas of potential sites for the ship, but we need more time to get it off the ground...and we're running out of runway," McSweeney said to the AP.
The ship first launched in 1951, with 432 colorful rooms (including a first class ballroom) and swanky, mid-century interiors. The vessel carried a million passengers (including Prince Rainier of Monaco) at record-high speeds until 1969, where it continued to change hands between investors and the Navy.
Members of the Conservancy emphasize the historical importance of the SS United States, additionally citing that the project will create jobs as a community project.
"Any way you look at it, there is no downside to this project," McSweeney said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
