The SS United States, docked in Philadelphia, has been working towards the goal of raising enough money to save the ship through the efforts of the SS United States Conservancy, whose executive director, Susan Gibbs, is the granddaughter of the ship's designer.
The owners have been working to save the ship because they can't afford the expensive maintenance. Now they are teaming up with the SS United States Redevelopment Project.
Dan McSweeney, whose father worked as a steward on the ship, heads the redevelopment project. His goal is to turn it into a stationary entertainment complex and museum.
"You can't set her on fire, you can't sink her, and you can't catch her," said the designer, William Francis Gibbs, a naval architect responsible for designing nearly 5,500 navy vessels, who constructed the ship from fireproof materials.
"This is an extraordinary American achievement, an amazing expression of our post-war history, and it would be so tragic to see it destroyed," said Gibbs, who didn't get to know her grandfather, who died when she was young. "I've gotten to know him through this ship," she said. "His spirit is here."
The SS United States Conservancy launched a website where visitors can contribute $1 per square foot to sponsor the ship. According to Gibbs, they have about two months before they have to sell the ship for scrap metal, though Gibbs and Sweeney remain hopeful about their project.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
