S.S. United States gets new funds

She’s called the SS United States, and her enormous, rusted hull has been docked in the Delaware River off the Philadelphia Waterfront for over a decade. The premiere midcentury cruise ship is about to get some new money.

She’s called the SS United States, and her enormous, rusted hull has been docked in the Delaware River off the Philadelphia Waterfront for over a decade. The premiere midcentury cruise ship is about to get some new money.

Listen:
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The S.S. United States is literally a shell of what it used to be. The once grand cruise ship sits gutted along Columbus Avenue, and its been put up for sale by its owner, Star Cruises.

Philanthropist Gerry Lenfest has pledged $300,000 dollars toward buying the ship if the S.S. United States Conservancy can raise another $300,000.

Conservancy board member Greg Norris says the ship can probably be bought for its scrap value.

Norris: My best guess is that 4 million would buy the vessel. 300 thousand dollars is very generous – we’re thrilled to have it. But it’s going to take more than 600 thousand dollars to buy the ship.

Norris says the conservancy has no intention of buying the ship itself. He says the group will use the money to entice a third party to buy it and turn it into a dockside attraction.