Sailing Into the Unknown: Applying the National Historic Preservation Act to the SS United States' Final Voyage

Abstract

The National Historic Preservation Act was passed in 1966. It has since been amended several times and additional guidance has been published to assist federal agencies and the public in the preservation of America’s historic resources. Despite the continued expansion of the Act to include additional resource types and resource circumstance, there remain instances of first impression that do not fit into the official guidance. This paper seeks to apply the existing preservation legislation, regulations, and guidance to the SS United States. The ship has been listed in the National Register since 1999, and she was listed while docked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In February 2025, the United States departed Philadelphia for Mobile, Alabama to begin the process of being converted into an artificial reef. The plan is to sink the ship in Gulf waters off the coast of Florida. The move raises several questions regarding her status in the National Register. First, does the relocation of the ship from Philadelphia mean the ship should be delisted? Second, if the ship remains in the National Register, which state historic preservation office has jurisdiction? Will it be Pennsylvania because that is the office on the National Register nomination form, or will it be Florida because that is the jurisdiction in which she will reside? Third, the SS United States was listed as a floating historic vessel, but she will no longer be floating when she is a reef, does this change in her classification or impact her place in the National Register?