A ladybug landed on my arm while I stood in front of the commodore’s cabin, overlooking the Philadelphia skyline. It crawled to the end of my left index finger, and then flew off into the distance.
One of many notes (often accompanied by flags and flowers) left by visitors on the chainlink fence in front of the ship.
Another tribute left by a visitor.
Me and my friend Andrew Colket prior to boarding the ship. I’m wearing my Germantown Cricket Club hat, the club where the young William Francis Gibbs learned how to play tennis in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Andrew’s father, a merchant mariner during World War II, worked for a carpeting firm and was tasked with the carpet selection and installation for the vessel in the early 1950s.
As decayed as she is, she’s still a magnificent piece of modern sculpture.
Behind the bar of the cabin class smoking room.
A glance inside one of the ship’s four turbine engines, once capable of generating 248,000 horsepower and able to push the SS United States through the Atlantic at over 38 knots. They have been idle since 1969, and non-operational since the early 1980s.
The first/cabin class theater. Once equipped with a Cinemascope screen, it was where passengers could watch the latest Hollywood movies. In the 1950s, stars like Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe could be found in the audience.
Standing by one of the engine room panels. Photo by Andrew Colket.
Standing in the bottom of the ship’s first/cabin class pool. The pool was built of monel, an early form of stainless steel that was also used to build the spike of the Chrysler Building. Photo by Andrew Colket.
The ship’s nameplate has survived decades of auctions and vandalism.
st dance in the first class ballroom. I played a recording of the Meyer Davis Orchestra, and a couple that was part of the tour group took once last spin around the dance floor.
Standing where John Wayne posed for a photo with Commodore John Anderson. Photograph by Andrew Colket.
Where the ship’s wheel once stood.
One of the ship’s four manganese bronze propellers.
Looking up from the engine room.
One of the ship’s two engine rooms. If one engine room was taken out by a torpedo, the ship could still be operational.
Andrew and I on the port first class enclosed promenade deck.
A view from atop the bridge.
Looking at the Philadelphia skyline from the bridge.
Andrew “drinking” from an empty can of “Hull 488” beer in the tourist class bar. This was the favorite hangout of immigrants and traveling students.
Kenneth Goldberg and the tour group with the ship’s bow anchor.
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