United States (Steamship : 1952) Archives

Recently we have been blogging about the effort to conserve and reconstruct the historic steamship United States. The ship, which was built right here in Newport News, has a special connection to this community. One Christopher Newport University student is taking this connection to heart. Sophomore Andrew Jelonek, a history major and avid fan of ocean liners, has taken it upon himself to spearhead a fundraising campaign for the SS United States right here on CNU’s campus.

In an article in CNU’s own Captain’s Log newspaper last week, Andrew described his interest in the steamship United States. “In middle school I first got into ocean liners from the Titanic, and I just expanded and started learning about the other cruise ships,” said Andrew. Read more

Library & Archives

S.S. United States: Looking to the Future

April 6, 2012November 27, 2015

William Francis Gibbs, designer of the steamship United States, stands in front of the ship at a Hudson River Pier in New York. Mr. Gibbs wears his trademark fedora hat.From the Library collections.

I left you in my last post with the purchase of the S.S. United States by the SS United States Conservancy in the summer of 2010. The Conservancy had saved the historic vessel from the scrapyard, but what do they plan to do with the ship?

The donations from the “Save Our Ship” campaign allowed the Conservancy to purchase the ship and to pay the costs of keeping the vessel as it is today. However, like so many of the United States‘ previous owners, the Conservancy has big plans for the record-setting ocean liner. Read more

Library & Archives

S.S. United States: Where it Stands

April 5, 2012November 27, 2015

As Jay discussed in a previous post, The Port of Call blog would like to begin a conversation about the famous S.S. United States, a ship with a fabled history that was built right here in Newport News. As a current history major and future Museum Studies student, I am very passionate about the conservation of any piece of American history. But as a resident of Newport News for the last four years and a student at Christopher Newport University, I am especially devoted to preserving a historic ship as closely tied to this community as the S.S. United States.

So what is the current state of the United States? After being removed from service in 1969, the United States passed through a number of hands, each with their own plans for resurrection or reconstruction that were all quickly shelved. In 1996, United States was towed to its current location on the Delaware River, just outside of downtown Philadelphia. Read more

Library & Archives

New Conversation on the SS United States

April 3, 2012November 27, 2015

United States Leaving Newport News Shipbuilding — Stern side of SS UNITED STATES leaving NN shipyard accompanied by Tug

Readers of this blog will have noticed our determination to bring you as much news about the wreck of Costa Concordia as we can. Adam Frost has talked to you about the character of Captain Schettino, about the removal of the dead and of the thousands of tons of fuel from the hull of the ship, about the environmental threat that the hulk still poses for the delicate marine environment in which Concordia went down. We will continue to bring you updates on this most challenging salvage operation until the job is done.

In the upcoming days and weeks, however, Adam and others will be shifting the conversation to pick up on the energy surrounding SS United States. This year is the 60th anniversary of her launching and there seems to be a growing sense that this, the largest and last of the great 20th-century ocean liners, should be saved. The local importance of United States cannot be overstated, since she was built right here at Newport News Shipbuilding and many of those employees are still with us. Read more