SS United States E-Newsletter

April 6, 2012
The SS United States, rendered in pen and ink, by student Ross Parker. To hear more about Ross and his beautiful picture, keep reading! He's the subject of our column "Why Does The SS United States Inspire You?"

      Executive Director's Update

 

Dear SS United States Conservancy Supporters:  

  

As we approach the Titanic's 100th Anniversary, the doomed vessel seems to be sailing across every television set and movie screen.  The fact that the Titanic carried 1,500 passengers to a watery grave on her very first voyage has spooked and saddened us for a full century.  In contrast, the only physical damage the SS United States suffered after her record-breaking maiden run was the paint that scraped off her hull from the sheer force of the bow waves as she sped through the North Atlantic.  After a Broadway ticker tape parade, the "Big U" went on to serve for 17 mishap-free years, carrying over a million passengers back and forth across the sea.  

 

In response to the Titanic's sinking, the Bishop of Winchester asked: "When has such a mighty lesson against our confidence and trust in power, machinery, and money been shot through the nation?  The Titanic, name and thing, will stand for a monument and warning to human presumption."  The SS United States also stands as a monument and also offers a warning. The iconic vessel serves as a monument to ingenuity, ambition and technological innovation.  She showcases how human presumption can succeed against enormous odds.  Her designer, my grandfather William Francis Gibbs, liked to taunt, "You can't set her on fire, you can't sink her, and you can't catch her!" He was right, but new threats and new challenges now confront our generation.  The Big U's faded red, white and blue smokestacks warn us that time and tide and indifference can threaten even our most unifying and awe-inspiring patriotic symbols. 

 

The Titanic and the SS United States were both built for speed and safety, and both embodied their nation's loftiest aspirations. Only one of these legendary vessels, however, can still be saved for future generations.    

  

As always, thank you so much for your support...

 

Susan L. Gibbs

Executive Director 

 

 To become a member of the SS United States Conservancy or to make a tax-deductible donation in support of our efforts, please click here 

   


In This Issue:

      

RFQ SS United States Redevelopment Project Releases Request For Qualifications, Seeks Partners in Repurposing SS United States
In yet another sign of life for the SS United States, the SS United States Conservancy and its SS United States Redevelopment Project are pleased to announce a nationwide Request for Qualifications aimed at architects, real estate developers, hospitality companies, and other organizations leading to a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the ship.

"We've been discussing and planning this process for months and are now very glad to formally begin it in earnest," said Dan McSweeney, Managing Director of the SS United States Redevelopment Project.  "This is the start of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an absolutely unique and historic mixed-use attraction in a metropolitan waterfront district."

New Canaan Advisors will conduct the RFQ/RFP, working closely with Redevelopment Project and Conservancy personnel.  New Canaan's founder and Chief Advisor, Curtis C. Battles, previously worked on the redevelopment of two of New York City's most visible commercial real estate icons - Grand Central Terminal and the World Trade Center.

"By assembling such an all-star team, we are taking our redevelopment efforts to the next level," said Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy's executive director.  "Much work has been going on behind the scenes in recent months, and we are very encouraged by the SS United States' redevelopment potential."

The "Request for Qualifications" process is described more fully in this press release.

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about the ongoing efforts to "Save Our Ship!"


News Media Highlights: SS United States Conservancy and the Big U
Are Making Waves

The Conservancy's efforts attracted major press coverage in recent weeks. The launch of our survey of the vessel's existing artwork, furnishings, and other artifacts was featured in an Associated Press story that ran in over a hundred news outlets nationwide from the Palm Beach Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Anchorage Daily News and the Las Vegas Sun.  The Washington Post and CBS News also  picked up the story.

 National Public Radio's All Things Considered profiled historic ships in danger on the Philadelphia waterfront, including, of course, SS United States.  Dan McSweeney, Managing Director of the Conservancy's SS United States Redevelopment Project, described our exciting vision for the ship's adaptive reuse. 

WHYY, a Philadelphia-based NPR affiliate did a follow-on piece about the Conservancy's efforts to track down the ship's fittings and interviewed the Conservancy's executive director Susan Gibbs.  As reporter Peter Crimmins told his radio listeners, "The massive ship that set a record for crossing the Atlantic has been on the chopping blocks for decades. Every time a potential scrapper towed it to a new port, things went missing."  The Conservancy is determined to learn where the ship's many treasures have ended up.

Joseph G. Brin, a columnist for Hidden City Philadelphia, wrote a glowing retrospective, looking at the SS United States as a symbol of a bygone era.  Mr. Brin interviewed former crewmember and Conservancy board member Joe Rota for his article.

Connecticut's Hartford Courant featured a piece on the SS United States Redevelopment Project's retention of New Canaan Advisors, LLC.  This firm will help insure that the SS United States has a dignified and successful life as unique and revenue-generating destination.   Marine Link also covered the story.  

(To view links to the various news articles mentioned above, please click on the bolded publication titles.)   

 


Advisory Conservancy Announces New Advisory Council Members

 
The Conservancy is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its Advisory Council.  We're incredibly honored that this distinguished group has embraced our efforts to restore and repurpose the SS United States.  A warm welcome to all!

Kent L. Barwick is the president emeritus of the Municipal Art Society of New York, where he served as president from 1999 through 2009.  He has served as vice chairman and president of the New York State Historical Association and was the first director of "The Waterfront Project," a reconnaissance effort organized by a coalition of leading New York and New Jersey foundations, which evolved into the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. An early organizer of the South Street Seaport, Mr. Barwick is currently chairman of the State Council on Waterways and serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, the Clark Foundation, Historic Hudson Valley, New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, North River Historic Ship Society, Otsego 2000, Parks & Trails New York, Riverside South Planning Corporation, the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial and the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy. The recipient of a number of awards for his civic works, Mr. Barwick received his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and attended Harvard University as a Loeb Fellow.  

 

Stephanie Cuba is the Principal of CC Strategies, LLC, in New York, advising on all aspects of multi-family property development and rehabilitation. Previously the senior development director for AvalonBay Communities, senior associate for investment management and acquisitions for State Street Global Advisors - The Tuckerman Group, and real estate associate for Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, Stephanie now serves on the Board of Directors of Commercial Real Estate Women of New York (NYCREW.)  She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. 

 

Joyce Landry is CEO of Landry & Kling Inc., established in 1982 by Joyce and her business partner, Josephine (Jo) Kling. One of the first companies to specialize in corporate events at sea, Landry & Kling Inc. has also pioneered the use of cruise ships as floating hotels. Beginning her career in the cruise industry at the age of 23 when she implemented the first air/sea department for Holland America Line, Joyce went on to be regional sales director of Delta Queen Steamboat Company, and has since served on several cruise advisory boards and acted as an industry speaker. She has been honored by the Cruise Line International Association 2009 Hall of Fame, and is a founding board member of the Deborah Natansohn Foundation, which awards scholarships to women in need, in support of careers in journalism and tourism.

 

Sarah Slater comes to the Conservancy as an independent consultant with decades of professional experience in marketing, communications and sales with a focus on video distribution, documentary films, internet retailing and public television. She has worked for SCE Associates, where she launched a national marketing campaign for quality children's media, and served as Director of Sales for WGBH Boston, implementing highly successful sales and marketing strategies for series including NOVA, Masterpiece Theater, Mystery, and American Experience, Between the Lions, and other prominent titles.  She has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

 

Robert Wilburn is the principal of the Wilburn Group, where he provides general management consulting with an emphasis on: public private partnerships, mergers of non profits, the planning, financing, and construction of museums, libraries and academic facilities; and the implementation of major capital campaigns.  He is also the Director of Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College's Washington DC's campus.  He previously served as Founding President and CEO of the Gettysburg Foundation, President and CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and President and CEO of the Carnegie Institute.   Under his leadership, the number of customers, members, donors, and volunteers increased sharply within each organization.  While at the Carnegie Institute, Wilburn contributed to the founding of the Andy Warhol Museum.   He also served as the President of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he received his master's and doctoral degrees from Princeton University.


 


 FortSchuyler Conservancy's Fort Schuyler Chapter Event A Night To Remember


On Saturday, March 24th, the Fort Schuyler chapter of the SS United States Conservancy held their first gathering - a gala evening for all our friends who attended!   Conservancy board president Charles Anderson, whose father, John Anderson, the SS United States' longest serving master, was a Fort Schuler graduate, addressed the gathering.  Other special guests included Tom Crean, who worked as a baker aboard SS United States and Louise Meier Dunn, the daughter of the famous Big U contributing artist Hildreth Meier.  Meier shared memories from her trip on the United States' maiden voyage including the conga lines formed by passengers after the ship had passed Bishop's Rock and broke the trans-Atlantic speed record.  Judge John Ingram, former SS United States 3rd Mate shared his memories of life on board, including a rather embarrassing encounter with Ava Gardner (!)   

From left to right: Joseph Altamura, Charles Anderson, Michael Matulewicz and Dan McSweeney. Photo Credit Kyle Ober.

The Conservancy would like to extend a huge thank you to Daniel Clohessy, Fort Schuyler Chapter Chair, for organizing the event as well as Michael Matulewicz, the event's marvelous emcee.  Our profound gratitude also goes to Paul Stipkovich, New York Chapter Chair, Carl Weber, Kyle Ober, and to everyone who attended the event.  We can't thank you enough!


CruiseMiami Conservancy Represented At Cruise Shipping Miami

 

 On March 11th and 12th, the SS United States Conservancy exhibited at Cruise Shipping Miami, the nation's leading convention for cruise industry professionals to network and convene. Members of our team were able to make contacts with industry leaders and decision-makers. Our attendance at this event provided key opportunities to establish invaluable relationships, further goals and spread awareness about the Conservancy's important mission.  Fellow exhibitors and conference attendees were enthusiastic about our work and expressed interest in saving the SS Unites States!  The Conservancy  is profoundly grateful to Michael Kazacoff, Cruise Shipping Miami's Vice President, and Allison Dowd, Marketing Manager for all their support and for generously underwriting of the Conservancy's participation. 

 

Cassie Alvarez manning the Conservancy's table and championing our ship! 

 



Reynolds John Reynolds, Tireless Advocate of the SS United States Conservancy, Recognized by Seamen's Church Institute


 
 

FromTheVault From The Vault: Alan Stark and August of 1969

 

We continue to expand our archive of SS United States oral histories, still images, home movie footage and other personal remembrances of America's "ship of state."  These stories and photographs will be incorporated into our future exhibitions, expanded archives and outreach materials.  We will also share highlights in our newsletter.  We are always searching for new material - we look forward to hearing from you! Contact us at [email protected].  

 

From her first transatlantic voyage to her last, SS United States never failed to make an impression. In August of 1969, during her last months of passenger service, Alan Stark worked a memorable two weeks as a very junior night porter.

 

Fresh out of high school, he and a friend obtained berths for a two-week stint, to Europe and back. Alan had never been to sea, and only intended it for a summer job. Set to arrive aboard the day of SS United States' departure, Alan and his buddy almost didn't make it in time - a mail truck ran into their car! Fortunately, they were resourceful - and on a major thoroughfare. Hopping a cab, they reached the pier with time to spare, but Stark's haircut wasn't up to snuff. He was sent off - either to find a barber to neaten himself up, or to find another job to work for two weeks.

 

Once aboard - and properly groomed - Alan quickly slipped into his post as a night porter, while his buddy worked during the day. His supervisor looked out for him, and kept him out of the worst trouble he might have gotten himself into - after all, he was only seventeen! The night shift, he remembers, was far easier than the day shift. Quiet, with few of the passengers up and about, Alan had only his porter's duties to attend to, along with buffing floors and cleaning the movie theater - leaving him plenty of time to help out in the kitchen and grab a snack. No one ever went hungry aboard the Big U, he recalls.

 

After two weeks, SS United States had made the voyage to Europe and back, and Alan and his buddy returned, with two weeks' pay, and a lifetime's worth of stories. Alan declined the opportunity to take the next trip to Europe, but he had one more brush with history left in store - after leaving the ship, he headed north to a small hamlet called White Lake, where the Woodstock Music & Art Festival was just starting! 

 

 


Inspiration Why Does the SS United States Inspire You?

 
The SS United States inspires us all. Whether life-long sea dogs or armchair seafarers, she is significant to each of us in different ways. Over the past months, many of you have written to the Conservancy, in tribute to the ship. You have praised her as an exquisite feat of maritime engineering, as a symbol of national pride, and as one of the most beautiful ships ever to sail the seas. It is your passion for the SS United States that keeps her alive. We at the Conservancy encourage you to continue reaching out to us and sharing how you  celebrate or commemorate the Big U and her legacy.   
 
Ross Parker, an incredibly talented student from New Market, Alabama, has completed an absolutely stunning pen and ink drawing of SS United States.  (This image has been reproduced above.)  Home-schooled and only fifteen years old, Ross is an avid art student who has developed a passionate interest in the "Big U."   When asked "Why does the SS United States Inspire You?" Ross responded:    

 

"The SS United States is not only a piece of the golden age of ocean travel, but also of our maritime inheritance. The SS United States is our ship, and we should be proud to have her. She is our Titanic and yet, we leave her to fade into history. Why? She is still beautiful, and even though she is mostly rusted, there is something that catches the imagination and makes us wonder what she was like and can we save her?

 

My generation has that chance, and we need to take it before it is too late. This generation doesn't know much about her. If we don't do something, the next generation will know nothing of her existence. This can change. Young people like me can get involved and save her. Let me ask young people this, "If the Statue of Liberty was threatened, would you let her disappear?" No! You would do everything possible to save her. The SS United States is a monument that is just as important as the Statue of Liberty. She is a symbol of American ingenuity, prosperity, and strength. Let's unite and save her before it is too late."
 

 

volunteers All Hands On Deck - Help Us Celebrate the Big U!

A Call for Volunteers!  Please help us celebrate the Big U's 60th Anniversary

 

This year is a big one for the Big U. July will mark the 60th Anniversary of her maiden Atlantic voyage. We plan to celebrate by making a huge splash nationwide and we need YOUR help organizing local events. Casual happy hours, informative lectures and film screenings, themed evening events... every event garners interest and support for our mission to SAVE the SS United States! In this make-or-break year, we need to rally support throughout the nation. You can help by joining the Conservancy and volunteering your time to organize an event or start a membership chapter in your area.

 

We are now planning our special 60th Anniversary events calendar and would like to include an array of festivities across the nation. Let us know if you can organize an event in your local community!

 

We will welcome volunteers from across the nation. At this time, we are particularly interested in founding membership chapters in the Miami area of Florida, Hampton Roads area of Virginia, and on the West Coast. Volunteers will work closely with the Conservancy to recruit members, fundraise, and raise local awareness of the SS United States. Interested?  Send an email to Sarah Carley, the Conservancy's outreach associate, at [email protected]

 

    social_mediaFollow the Conservancy with Facebook and Twitter!  

SSUSC on Facebook 

SSUSC on Twitter  

 

Over the past few months, the Conservancy has completely redeveloped its social media presence, giving us new ways to connect with Conservancy members, fans and potential supporters of the SS United States. Be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest developments from the Conservancy as well as discussions, photos from the ship, photos of Conservancy events, and fun ship-related trivia!

 
For the latest news about the SS United States,
please visit our website, SSUSC.org



 

Please visit our bookstore on Blurb.com 

Please support our efforts to save the SS United States by visiting our store
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SS United States Conservancy

P.O. Box 32115

Washington, DC 20007

(888)-488-7787

 

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