"Below" - The SS United States

"Below" - The SS United States (via YouTube) A claustrophobic video walking tour by artist Robert Wogan of the dark engineering spaces in the SS United States.

Idea for saving historic cruise ship SS United States: Pair it with a riverfront casino

Philadelphia—The SS United States Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the SS United States, will unveil the results of a detailed feasibility study, as well as scale renderings and a model showing the ship as the catalyst for an innovative urban redevelopment initiative along Philadelphia’s Delaware River. The results will be announced Monday at a press briefing in Philadelphia.

Through a generous grant from Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest and spearheaded by consultant Ken Smukler, the Conservancy commissioned Stephen Varenhorst Architects (SVA) to conduct the study. The team examined a number of sites along the Delaware River and honed in on the Foxwoods site between Philadelphia’s Reed and Tasker Streets. The plan incorporates hotel space, restaurant offerings, retail and office space, residential development, parkland and a marina, nature reserves, and a casino.

"This study shows that the restoration of the SS United States on the Philadelphia waterfront could spearhead a dynamic urban development initiative,” said Susan Gibbs, Conservancy Board President, whose grandfather, Philadelphia native William Francis Gibbs, designed the vessel. “For too long, the Foxwoods site has been the subject of controversy. We are hoping this new vision and world-class design is one that Philadelphians could rally around."

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