LOOKING AHEAD:
CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH WITH THE TRANSATLANTIC TRAILBLAZERS OF THE SS UNITED STATES

From Engineering to Art and Design: America's Flagship's Inspiring Women
Building off the success of our recent digital exhibition, Advertising the United States: Exploring America's Flagship Through Prints, Posters and Advertisements, the SS United States Conservancy's curatorial team is getting ready to launch our next digital exhibition.

Set to open during Women's History Month in March 2022, Transatlantic Trailblazers: The Women Behind the Art and Engineering of the SS United States, will explore the work and indelible presence of women who helped shape the SS United States into a stylish, global icon and an ambassador for her namesake nation.

Women left their mark on the SS United States from bow to stern. from the art and design work of Dorothy Marckwald and Anne Urquhart, the female designers responsible for the SS United States' ultra-modern, fireproof interiors, to the engineering leadership of Elaine Kaplan, the engineer and mathematician who was instrumental in designing the top secret propellers. Prominent artists, including Hildreth Meiere, Gwen Lux, and Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren, created exciting pieces for the ship's most iconic public spaces.

Transatlantic Trailblazers will open on March 4, 2022 to celebrate Women’s History Month. We are offering a special program for our most generous supporters: Donors who contribute $500 or above will receive an exclusive invitation to "An Evening with the Curators," an online program and reception, which will be held in conjunction with the exhibition. We are also planning a celebratory in-person event in Manhattan. 

THE OBSERVATION LOUNGE:
JAMES NORTHRUP STUDIES ABROAD
Former Passenger Discusses "Shooting Off the Fantail,"
His Subsequent Appreciation for the Big U's Speed
In August 1969, James "Chip" Northrup (pictured here), an undergraduate student at Brown University, boarded the SS United States for an east-bound crossing that would take him to his junior year abroad in England. From unexpected meetings to late night shenanigans, Northrup's passage would provide him with experience of a lifetime.

On this month's episode of "The Observation Lounge," Chip Northrup recalls the "understated elegance" of the interior spaces of America's Flagship, and the "first-rate" service he received while a passenger traveling on the historic ocean liner. Northrup shares several fun adventures he had while on board, including a visit to one of the ship's bars that brought him together with several other "sailors adrift at sea." Northrup also describes how he and another passenger found themselves eating oxidized Hershey bars from one of the SS United States' lifeboats - and how they nearly ended up being thrown into the brig.

MORE FROM THE SS UNITED STATES CONSERVANCY
The SS United States Conservancy's Hampton Roads Chapter is continuing to prepare for an extravaganza at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia on April 9, 2022. The event will feature a daytime program with insightful panels, presentations and a special tour of the museum, followed by a Gala Dinner in the evening. 


*Tickets for the daytime program and the gala dinner sold separately.
Recently, we re-shared on social media a photo of one of the SS United States' four-bladed propellers. Manufactured from manganese bronze and weighing an astounding 60,000 pounds - one of these spectacular propellers went on public display at the renovated Pier 76 in Manhattan earlier this year. Some supporters asked where the ship's other propellers can be found, which is a question we are happy to answer:

THE BIG U CONTINUES TO INSPIRE...

"If you compare [the Big U] to what you can do now, there's just no comparison." - James Northrup, former passenger on the SS United States