<strong>Pride of the oceans: </strong>The liner SS United States was a record breaker. In 1952 she took the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing -- a record she's held onto ever since.
Pride of the oceans: The liner SS United States was a record breaker. In 1952 she took the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing -- a record she's held onto ever since.
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<strong>Shroud of secrecy: </strong>The SS United States was the first major liner built in a dry dock -- a precaution to conceal parts of its design considered a military secret.
Shroud of secrecy: The SS United States was the first major liner built in a dry dock -- a precaution to conceal parts of its design considered a military secret.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
<strong>Made in America: </strong>The ship's architect was determined it wouldn't suffer the fate of the Titanic, giving it a dual engine room and a double bottom that extended up the sides of the hull.
Made in America: The ship's architect was determined it wouldn't suffer the fate of the Titanic, giving it a dual engine room and a double bottom that extended up the sides of the hull.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
<strong>Grand launch: </strong>Built at a cost of $78 million, the SS United States was launched in 1951. Her maiden voyage took place in 1952.
Grand launch: Built at a cost of $78 million, the SS United States was launched in 1951. Her maiden voyage took place in 1952.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
<strong>A New York welcome: </strong>A huge cordon of tugs accompanies the SS United States past the New York skyline on her maiden outing.
A New York welcome: A huge cordon of tugs accompanies the SS United States past the New York skyline on her maiden outing.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
<strong>Built for speed: </strong>The SS United States arrives in the French port of Le Havre. With a stunning horsepower of 247,785, she was capable of exceeding 38 knots and could outrun most battleships.
Built for speed: The SS United States arrives in the French port of Le Havre. With a stunning horsepower of 247,785, she was capable of exceeding 38 knots and could outrun most battleships.
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<strong>Famous faces: </strong>The SS United States carried celebrity passengers including Coco Chanel, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne, not to mention four US Presidents.
Famous faces: The SS United States carried celebrity passengers including Coco Chanel, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne, not to mention four US Presidents.
John Olson/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
<strong>Fading glamor: </strong>The clubby, midcentury modern fittings and stylings, designed by ocean liner interior mavens Dorothy Marckwald and Anne Urquhart, were auctioned off in 1984.
Fading glamor: The clubby, midcentury modern fittings and stylings, designed by ocean liner interior mavens Dorothy Marckwald and Anne Urquhart, were auctioned off in 1984.
John Olson/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
<strong>Sleeping giant: </strong>Since 1996, the ship has been moored in Philadelphia, where it looms over the parking lot of a shopping center across the Christopher Columbus Boulevard -- spectacularly and surreally large.
Sleeping giant: Since 1996, the ship has been moored in Philadelphia, where it looms over the parking lot of a shopping center across the Christopher Columbus Boulevard -- spectacularly and surreally large.
Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post/Getty Images
<strong>Decaying grandeur: </strong>The former lounge area on the SS United States. Most of the fixtures and fittings were stripped out and sold. This bar is a prop left over from an action movie filmed on the ship.
Decaying grandeur: The former lounge area on the SS United States. Most of the fixtures and fittings were stripped out and sold. This bar is a prop left over from an action movie filmed on the ship.
Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post/Getty Images
<strong>Saving the ship: </strong>The ship was due to be sold off for scrap back in 2003, but the SS United States Conservancy, with the help of donations, stepped in to prevent its demise.
Saving the ship: The ship was due to be sold off for scrap back in 2003, but the SS United States Conservancy, with the help of donations, stepped in to prevent its demise.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Tall order: </strong>The SS United States measures nearly 1,000 feet in length. Its size makes the task of maintaining it all the more challenging.
Tall order: The SS United States measures nearly 1,000 feet in length. Its size makes the task of maintaining it all the more challenging.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Grace and beauty: </strong>"Of course it's empty and dusty and with faded paint, but it is so evocative still of the grandeur and grace and beauty," says Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy's executive director, pictured here.
Grace and beauty: "Of course it's empty and dusty and with faded paint, but it is so evocative still of the grandeur and grace and beauty," says Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy's executive director, pictured here.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Emotional feeling: </strong>"I find great strength and positive emotional feeling when I walk her decks," says Susan Gibbs. "It's a deeply heartfelt and intense reminder of what this nation was and is capable of doing together. She's an incredible expression in steel and aluminum of that ability."
Emotional feeling: "I find great strength and positive emotional feeling when I walk her decks," says Susan Gibbs. "It's a deeply heartfelt and intense reminder of what this nation was and is capable of doing together. She's an incredible expression in steel and aluminum of that ability."
Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
<strong>End of the line: </strong>With the arrival of the jet age, the SS United States' prime was cut short. By the 1970s her star had begun to fall and she passed from owner to owner, every transaction hastening her demise.
End of the line: With the arrival of the jet age, the SS United States' prime was cut short. By the 1970s her star had begun to fall and she passed from owner to owner, every transaction hastening her demise.
Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
<strong>New life?: </strong>The SS United States may yet be brought back to life, after a fashion. Property developer RXR Realty has struck a deal to convert it into a hotel, restaurants and a museum, moored in New York.
New life?: The SS United States may yet be brought back to life, after a fashion. Property developer RXR Realty has struck a deal to convert it into a hotel, restaurants and a museum, moored in New York.
Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
<strong>Enduring strength: </strong>"One sentiment is, the ship is still here. She has endured," says Susan Gibbs. "Her lines, her form, her strength are all still apparent. There's a poignant sense that she's currently waiting to be illuminated again."
Enduring strength: "One sentiment is, the ship is still here. She has endured," says Susan Gibbs. "Her lines, her form, her strength are all still apparent. There's a poignant sense that she's currently waiting to be illuminated again."
Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
<strong>Unsinkable: </strong>Despite her lightweight frame, she was engineered to be practically indestructible. "You can't set her on fire, you can't sink her, and you can't catch her," the ship's designer, self-taught naval architect William Francis Gibbs, was known to say.
Unsinkable: Despite her lightweight frame, she was engineered to be practically indestructible. "You can't set her on fire, you can't sink her, and you can't catch her," the ship's designer, self-taught naval architect William Francis Gibbs, was known to say.
Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg/Getty Images