Years ago, I was acquainted with an elderly Navy veteran who knew I was interested in passenger ships. He gave me a large (about 2'x3') print of the SS UNITED STATES, in a mailing sleeve that has the original mailing label. Apparently, it was a gift from the shipbuilders at Newport News to the Secretary of the Navy, Dan Kimball.
I am sure others here know/remember better than I do, but I believe the ship was designed with the specific intention of using her as a Navy troop carrier in case of war. If the Navy was involved in her design and construction, it makes sense that the builder would send a print of the vessel to the Navy, to commemorate her launch and commissioning.
Attached are a photo of the print (some water damage at lower left, but it could be covered with a matte during framing), and of the mailing label used by the shipbuilding company. (The ship print looks crooked, but it's not - that's just my bad photography skills.)
I will get it framed this coming year, and wonder if there is a cool way to incorporate the mailing label alongside the print as part of the same framed artwork, so it retains its context for years to come.
[The artist is TC Skinner, and it is labeled as being produced by the Mariners' Museum in Newport News. I offered it to them but they declined, saying they have copies of this print in their archive - I guess the Naval context was not of interest to them.]
Seeing as it’s the 20th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 I was wondering if there are any photos of the SS United States passing by the Twin Towers. While the towers weren’t finished the North Tower started construction in 1968 and topped out in 1970 and the Big U was out of commission near the end of 1969. So it could be possible. Thanks !
I just noticed that she's no longer at her berth in Philadelphia on the most recent Google Maps satellite images. I looked online but there doesn't seem to be any records or news about her moving this year. What's going on?
