South Philly Review

With its expansive and impressive floor-to-ceiling window view of the SS United States docked at Pier 81, Ikea's second-floor cafeteria is the perfect location to host an event dedicated to the historic ship's preservation. The vessel, owned by Star Cruises, parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, is on the market for a reported $20 million and many fear a foreign entity will purchase her -- then scrap her.

About 150 supporters from as far as Nevada and Michigan attended the SS United States Conservancy's fundraiser July 31 at the Swedish retailer at 2206 S. Columbus Blvd., all with the intention of saving what is still the fastest and largest passenger liner to be built in the world.

Attend a free screening of the documentary "SS United States: Lady in Waiting" at the Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd., 7 p.m. Aug. 26. For details, visit www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org.

"The positive energy in the room was palpable, especially with the ship in the background," Dan McSweeney, conservancy board member and chairman of the Coalition to Save the SS United States, told the Review.

The Conservancy approached Ikea about hosting the event and the retailer agreed.

"We always strive to give back and be a leader in our community and it was an honor for us to host the SS United States Conservancy awareness event. The ship is an icon to all of us and we are proud to have her as our neighbor," Ikea Operations Manager Tim Beaver told the Review.

That evening, the conservancy, a nonprofit begun in 1992 that seeks to preserve and revitalize the ocean liner, also went public with news of a $300,000 matching grant it received last month from philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest towards the purchase of the 57-year-old ship that has been moored at the South Philly pier for the last 13 years. Conservancy President Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the ship's Philadelphia-based designer William Francis Gibbs, spoke at the buffet dinner, held from 6 to 8 p.m. Open to the public with tickets ranging from $25 to $100 (with higher prices including, in addition to the meal, a DVD of the PBS documentary "SS United States: Lady in Waiting," a canvas tote bag and an SS United States Lines eagle insignia polo shirt), the event raised a couple thousand dollars, McSweeney said.

"More important than the money raised was the awareness and momentum raised in the Philadelphia community," the Marine Corps major whose father, Daniel Sr., emigrated from Scotland to work as a steward on the SS United States in the early 1950s, said.

Along with the grant, funds from the dinner will go towards public education and design and development plans to save the vessel. According to McSweeney, Norwegian Cruise Lines LLC announced its $20 million asking price in January when the company put the ship up for sale after purchasing it in 2003 for an undisclosed amount. Months later, a conservancy source who wished not to be identified told the Review the cruise line would settle for less now.

However, earlier this week, Norwegian spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews told the Review the sale price was not something the cruise line ever disclosed, citing the conservancy as having released the figure, and that she did not have access to information such as the sale price.

The Lenfest Foundation did not return phone calls for comment on the grant that resulted from conservancy board member Stephen Ujifisuco reaching out to Gerry Lenfest and securing a meeting to discuss the importance of saving the vessel, McSweeney said.

"We are extremely grateful because it represents a step forward, as it is a way of generating momentum and attention in Philadelphia and nationally," McSweeney said of the grant. "And it represents Mr. Lenfest's commitment to an irreplaceable national icon. We look forward to working with him."

The conservancy is very clear on one point, however: It is not buying the ship.

"We don't have legal or logistical capacity to do that," McSweeney said. "We want to establish a public/private partnership

that can become the appropriate structure to accept the [Lenfest] donation and garner support to re-purpose the ship as a stationary attraction in a major U.S. city in a way that is economically self-sufficient, honors the legacy, tradition and history of the ship and creates jobs and generates tax revenue."