[HN Gopher] Judge orders removal of 1,000ft rotting ocean liner ...
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Judge orders removal of 1,000ft rotting ocean liner from
Philadelphia pier
Author : howard941
Score : 23 points
Date : 2024-08-20 20:09 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| NewJazz wrote:
| _The dispute over the huge ship has been in and out of court - a
| magnified version of what to do with possessions that have no
| useful purpose but are held on to for reasons that cannot be
| articulated or clearly remembered._
|
| Article author has some thoughts and opinions on the matter, huh?
| unquietwiki wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States
|
| I think the "Well There's Your Problem" podcast mentioned this
| ship in a recent episode. Fastest ship for its day; I thought
| it was nuclear-powered, but apparently not?
| throwanem wrote:
| You're thinking of NS Savannah.
| syntheticnature wrote:
| I wasn't sure if it was thoughts or opinions, or an attempt to
| make this feel more personally relevant to readers. It did, in
| any case, jump out at me when I read it.
| riffic wrote:
| any reason why south philadelphians call it the "IKEA boat"? That
| doesn't seem to be explained in the text.
| skyfaller wrote:
| It has been parked right next to an IKEA for a while, where it
| is prominently visible from the IKEA cafeteria windows, as well
| as the parking lot.
| burkaman wrote:
| > the nation's flagship
|
| > one of its most iconic symbols
|
| Kind of wild spin from the owners, it's just a cruise ship. It
| can't be an "iconic symbol" if essentially nobody in the country
| has ever heard of it.
| Animats wrote:
| It wasn't a cruise ship. It was a fast ocean liner. An obsolete
| concept. Business class, US to UK, at high speed. Only 3.5
| days!
|
| The SS United States was famous, but a long time ago. Back when
| Elvis and the Beatles mattered.
| burkaman wrote:
| I know it's different, just trying to find the closest modern
| comparison. You bring up Elvis and the Beatles, but they
| still matter to quite a few people. This ship does not, and
| that doesn't mean it's worthless, but it does mean that it's
| not a national icon that the president should step in to
| save.
| lupusreal wrote:
| The point stands though. Warships that served the nation and
| have actual name recognition have trouble raising funds to
| stay afloat as museums. Keeping some unheard of commercial
| vessel afloat as a floating ballroom or whatever seems
| totally unrealistic.
|
| Incidentally, if you're ever in Philly, check out the USS
| Olympia. There aren't many ships from that era (late 19th)
| still around. Really cool ship.
| AirMax98 wrote:
| It's egregious that this conservancy group can waste the time
| of the city's government on something that is trash when A)
| there is a LOT of historical shit that needs preserving in
| Philly and B) the city has *actual* problems (highest rate of
| extreme poverty of any large city in America). Something tells
| me if I parked a "historical" no-start '88 Ranger outside of a
| board member's Main Line McMansion that it would be promptly
| removed.
| AirMax98 wrote:
| Love to look at this boat when I'm down there, but it's good to
| see something happen. Wayyyyy too much abandoned shit in Philly
| that remains abandoned because of owners/proprietors that are
| just frankly irresponsible to others. A large lot on Broad &
| Washington (intersection of two busiest thoroughfares in South
| Philly) was similarly abandoned for 25 years due to a mixture of
| headstrong, incompetent owners and government gridlock, which was
| a weird safety hazard. It has since been developed, but I say use
| or lose it.
| Animats wrote:
| That's sad. For decades now, there have been restoration
| proposals for the S.S. United States. But none went anywhere.
|
| It was a great ship, the fastest ocean liner ever. 3 days, 10
| hours and 40 minutes from New York to Southampton. But once
| aircraft could make the trip, that speed wasn't a good selling
| point.
|
| The S.S. United States was built to military standards, with some
| government funding so it could be used as a troop ship. So it had
| more internal watertight compartments than most ships and the
| watertight bulkheads went to 40 feet above the water line. Thus,
| few big, open spaces. Four engine rooms, for redundancy in case
| of attack. Way too much power. It was for people who needed to
| cross the Atlantic in a hurry.
|
| Today's cruise ships are barges with giant open spaces. Relaxing
| on deck at 44 MPH doesn't really work. Conversion to a cruise
| ship was considered, but never went anywhere.
| pinewurst wrote:
| It has the propulsion system of a Midway-class aircraft
| carrier.
| gwbas1c wrote:
| I sometimes worry that, as a country, we hoard historical
| artifacts.
|
| We can't live in the past.
|
| Maybe the best thing to do is to take what monies are available,
| cut a part out, and put it somewhere its wanted. Otherwise, just
| accept that holding on to this ship is hoarding, and we need to
| dispose of it.
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(page generated 2024-08-20 23:01 UTC)