Ocean Liner

It was a planner's dream. The year was 1968, and a group of investors had proposed docking the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner at the foot of Philadelphia International Airport, in Tinicum Township. There, it would be converted into a luxurious floating hotel and attraction. That's all county planners needed to get them going. Within the year, they had cranked out a visionary plan for the Tinicum of the future that included several other tourist attractions, such as a menagerie and stables inside the Tincium National Environmental Center.

With the demise of transatlantic ocean liners, the sea-voyage term rough crossing has pretty much passed from the lexicon. Tom Stoppard revived it as the title of his 1984 comedy, which takes place on an ocean liner. But unfortunately, as a metaphor, it aptly describes both the play and the Lantern Theater production at St. Stephen's Theater. Stoppard, author of Arcadia, Travesties, The Real Thing and many other works, is one of the best playwrights in the language, but this tepid farce demonstrates that even a master can have an unsuccessful outing.

Bill Clinton was in his first term as president when the peeling hulk of the SS United States was towed up the Delaware River for temporary moorage. The massive ocean liner has now idled in the shadow of the Walt Whitman Bridge for so long that its 12-story stacks are virtually part of Philadelphia's skyline, hardly noticed by the thousands who drive overhead each day. But the once-grand ship could soon slip away as quietly as it arrived. Its owner, Star Cruises of Hong Kong, has put the vessel up for sale.

The SS United States, docked in Philadelphia at a cost of $1,000 a day for eight years, hasn't fired its boilers since 1969. Once the pride of the American fleet, the 990-foot-long ocean liner lost out after jet airplanes took away its main reason for being: fast transport of passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. But Colin Veitch, chief executive officer of Miami-based NCL Corp., the ship's owner, says he thinks the United States can turn a profit - even though the $500 million cost of reviving the 52-year-old vessel is perhaps $150 million greater than building a new one. Industry experts think he is dreaming.

A private group of old salts, dockside dreamers, preservationists, and history buffs took formal possession Tuesday of acres of rust, peeling paint, and possibilities - the historic SS United States. Once the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic - and still holder of the westbound speed record - the 1,000-foot-long ship has been docked at Pier 82 on the Delaware River, just north of Oregon Avenue, since the late 1990s. It was teetering on the brink of the scrapyard when philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest stepped up last summer with $5.8 million to begin a serious effort to save the ship and give it a new, rust-free life.

The S.S. United States arrived at Pier 96 in South Philadelphia last week from the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal under the Walt Whitman Bridge. The ship, which has been out of service since 1969, was towed into the area last month after undergoing asbestos removal overseas. Owners hope to raise enough money to restore the 990-foot ocean liner. The vessel holds the record as the fastest passenger ship afloat.

Queen Elizabeth II (I speak here of the titular regent of the United Kingdom and not of the ocean liner) is celebrating her 50th year on the throne. To mark the occasion, it would be good . . . to give thanks for the British monarchy, which Elizabeth has done so much to make both irrelevant and entertaining. Which is precisely what a monarchy should be. - Bill Tammeus, column, Kansas City Star, Feb. 5

Dwarfed only by the Walt Whitman Bridge, the SS United States is towed north along the Delaware to its new anchorage at Pier 96 in South Philadelphia. Its owners are trying to put together funding to restore the ocean liner. The 990-foot ship has been undergoing asbestos removal overseas the last few years. Out of service since 1969, the United States still holds the record as the fastest passenger ship afloat.

Be there or be square The Friends of Rittenhouse Square held its 28th annual black-tie dinner dance June 16, netting $165,000 for the Friends' latest project to upgrade and install new interior lighting in the six-acre park. The Ball on the Square was attended by 435 guests, including 85 Young Friends of Rittenhouse Square who joined the party for dessert and dancing. The benefit, held under a tent, featured dinner by Stephen Starr Events, decor by Evantine Design, and music by the Eddie Bruce Band.

Like their life-size counterparts, self-propelled toy boats can be an expensive hobby. To see just how expensive, take a look at some of the sea craft that Bertoia Auctions will offer beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at the gallery in Vineland. At least 18 of the more than 150 vessels that dominate the 210-lot sale are expected to bring five-figure prices and at least one has a six-figure presale price estimate. The fleet was assembled by Richard T. "Dick" Claus, a 30-year collector who lives in the Philadelphia area and at age 80 is planning to downsize, according to Bertoia associate Richard Bertoia.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland - I knew before I left for Belfast that the world is divided into those who don't care, and those who can't seem to get enough of the doomed ocean liner Titanic, which sank on its maiden Atlantic crossing a century ago today off the coast of Newfoundland. The Belfast Titanic Society says there are more than 100 museums and monuments associated with the ship worldwide, and Belfast added to the list March 31 by opening a $150 million building on the slipway where the Titanic was built from 1909 to 1911.

One hundred years ago this weekend, the world was stunned by the loss of more than 1,500 passengers and crew who went down with the RMS Titanic. Among the victims from the Philadelphia area were businessman George Widener, owner of the Ritz Carlton, and his son Harry. The Wideners had close personal and business connections with the family of William Francis Gibbs. Such a tragic loss hitting so close to home may have inspired Gibbs, then a 25-year-old naval architect, to begin designing his ultimate super-ship, which would launch 40 years later.

If you have $30,000 to spare, you can go to Lambertville on Saturday and bid on - with some assurance of success - a 67-inch-tall bronze by the Dutch artist Kees Verkade. Or you can rush down to Vineland in South Jersey and - with the same probable degree of success - bid on a 20-inch-long Marklin clockwork ocean liner. The liner, the Puritan, is one of nearly 1,500 lots in Bertoia Auctions' "Toys on World Tour" sale Friday and Saturday at the gallery at 2141 DeMarco Dr., just off Exit 35 of Route 55. And it has a presale estimate of $25,000 to $30,000, according to the auction catalog available in hard cover and online at www.bertoiaauctions.com . It is one of a dozen lots expected to bring five-figure prices.

Be there or be square The Friends of Rittenhouse Square held its 28th annual black-tie dinner dance June 16, netting $165,000 for the Friends' latest project to upgrade and install new interior lighting in the six-acre park. The Ball on the Square was attended by 435 guests, including 85 Young Friends of Rittenhouse Square who joined the party for dessert and dancing. The benefit, held under a tent, featured dinner by Stephen Starr Events, decor by Evantine Design, and music by the Eddie Bruce Band.

A private group of old salts, dockside dreamers, preservationists, and history buffs took formal possession Tuesday of acres of rust, peeling paint, and possibilities - the historic SS United States. Once the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic - and still holder of the westbound speed record - the 1,000-foot-long ship has been docked at Pier 82 on the Delaware River, just north of Oregon Avenue, since the late 1990s. It was teetering on the brink of the scrapyard when philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest stepped up last summer with $5.8 million to begin a serious effort to save the ship and give it a new, rust-free life.

EVERY SO OFTEN, some individuals and loosely formed groups try to generate interest in refurbishing the once-famed ocean liner the SS United States, docked at Washington Avenue for at least 12 years. It's in woeful condition, and its deterioration is accelerating. Why would the owner (the Norwegian Cruise Lines) pay dockage fees for years and take no action? The answer came in a call to the Environmental Protection Agency, which told me that no work on the ship could start without removing the asbestos from the engine room.

Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest has tossed the financial equivalent of a life preserver to the storied SS United States ocean liner. But Lenfest's generosity, coming as scrap bids were being sought for the ship moored in South Philadelphia, represents only a temporary reprieve. The up to $5.8 million pledge will cover an estimated $3 million purchase of the liner from Norwegian Cruise Line and the cost of maintaining the vessel for about 20 months. Remaining, though, is the enormous challenge of planning and financing its makeover.

The tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is one clear sign that we're due for a significant reassessment of national priorities and policies. But that doesn't mean we should completely discard the past. Some of our history is too important to be lost in our inevitable evolution. Since 2004, I've been involved in what many of my friends and relatives would describe as a quixotic effort to preserve a largely forgotten 20th-century artifact. I have been part of a committed group working to keep America's national flagship, the legendary SS United States, from being destroyed by scrappers.

Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest will donate up to $5.8 million to help save the SS United States, the storied ocean liner that's to be celebrated at a riverfront ceremony tonight, officials said. The funds will be used to buy the ship from its owner, Norwegian Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong, and to maintain the vessel in its current South Philadelphia berth for up to 20 months. During that time, redevelopment and refurbishment plans will be completed.