OFF TOPIC: SS United States moving

billyshakes

Forgive the digression from Django's music for a moment. For those that don't recognize it, the photo image in my profile is of the SS United States, a transatlantic passenger liner that still holds the Blue Riband prize for fastest crossing by an ocean liner and monohull (In 1952, a year before Django's untimely passing). She was designed by an American naval architect named William Francis Gibbs, a fascinating man who was largely self-taught in the field of ship building. This ship traveled so fast on her maiden voyage that the paint peeled off her hull near the bow. While she was the pinnacle of ocean liner design, the rise of jet air travel saw a precipitous decline in passengers willing to spend the 3.5-4 days on a crossing instead of 3 to 7 hours.

The ship has been dormant on a pier in Philadelphia since the mid-90s, searching for a purpose. Recent developments have caused the non-profit who owned her to sell to a Gulf Coast city to be made into an artificial reef. She is a relic from a different era that did see Duke Ellington as perhaps its most famous passenger. (Who knows, maybe Django would have travelled on her had he lived longer, even though he already flew over to the US once at the Duke's invitation?) Here is Duke playing the ship's Steinway piano, which along with the butcher's chopping block in the kitchen, were said to be the only 2 pieces of wood Gibbs allowed on his ship for fear of shipboard fire. And even that was only because Steinway doused a piano in kerosene and tried to light it with a match, showing that it didn't really burn well.

Today, after 30 years of sitting in the mud, she is once more taking to the open seas for one of her last trips. It will pull into a Mobile, AL, in 2 weeks to a shipyard to prepare for the sinking, where they will remove snag hazards for divers, some of the petrochemicals and other hazardouse materials onboard, and to salvage perhaps some unique items for a planned museum. It almost looks like a scene from "Raise the Titanic" as she is pulled through the river by tug. A sad end to a majestic ship.

Local news report on the ship's departure HERE.

EDIT: Here's the "Raise the Titanic" image from the movie that the above photo reminded me of.

lux

She’s under way? I knew I was getting ready to happen soon. I’ll crank up YouTube and find videos of her departure.

wim

That's cool. You can walk around in/on her using Google street view - click

billyshakes

I never thought to do that. That's cool and thanks for the tip!

lux

Oh wow! Gotta get on that before Google street view updates.

MikeK

There are questions in life that you never get around to asking and one of mine has been "what's the significance of Billy's ship?" Now I know. Good stuff, super interesting. And I love that the story ties in with Sir Duke.