Philadelphia Inquirer: With more than $40 million spent, the SS United States has finally left Philadelphia after almost 30 years

Almost three decades later and with more than $40 million spent on rent, insurance, and feasibility studies, the SS United States — the dilapidated 990-foot ship that adorned or blemished the Delaware River waterfront, depending on whom you ask — has finally left Philadelphia.

The affair was nothing like the vessel’s 1952 maiden voyage. This time, the interior was gutted, long gone were the 7,900 quarts of ice cream and 500 pounds of caviar that once made headlines. As for the exterior, the former luxury ocean liner, which could also transport 14,000 troops if necessary, resembled more of a ghost ship in what’s supposed to be its second-to-last voyage.

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