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Christmas time in the City

December sparkles in New York!  The lights, the smells and the evergreen trees all add to the festive atmosphere. Pictured above and below are the Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center and the Christmas Tree, an annual feature since the 1930's.

And just blocks away, the amazing Radio City Music hall, a splendid Art Deco landmark which attracts visitors from round the world.

                                                          MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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The SS United States

Oceanliner in Waiting

The SS United States seen in Philadelphia across from the IKEA store.

  Berthed in Pier 82 in south Philadelphia, the SS United States, the fastest ocean liner in the world, awaits its fate.  The clock is ticking...

Designed by renowned naval architect William Francis Gibbs, the 990 foot vessel was completed in 1952. The ship was a sleek platform of American innovation.

While the pride of United States Lines in the 1950's and 1960's, the ship was surpassed by jet travel and the sad reality that people don't want to or can't take five days to sail to Europe.  The ship made crossings from New York to Southampton in the UK and Le Harve in France.

Looking at the ship up close and personal, we simply can't allow this American icon to rust away!

                                               

There used to be an ad, "You have a Friend in Pennsylvania."  Agreed.  While peering at the
Big U through the chain linked fence outside the dock, as close as you can get, a shipyard foreman came by and asked about our interest in the ship.  After telling him that I made the transatlantic crossing on the ship back in 1962,  he immediately escorted us into the pier area for a close up view.

Thank you Frank for the unique privilege to get as close to the ship as I have been in fifty years!

After revisiting the SS United States a few years back--an inspiration for this blog by the way--I became keenly interested in the fate of this iconic American ocean liner.  So on a cold and windy day, I returned to see the ship which is a MUST visit for maritime aficionados!!

Now let's focus, there's an amazing organization trying to save and preserve the SS United States from a fate we won't even discuss during the holidays.  It suffices to say that one click on the site 

www.ssusc.org 

and you will see the need to get involved NOW to help this worthy historical preservation group.