Group: Put Philly Casino On Historic Cruise Liner

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A nonprofit conservation group is floating the idea of making a moth-balled ocean liner on the Delaware River part of a long-stalled casino project on the south Philadelphia waterfront.

The 1950s-era SS United States has 650,000 square feet of usable space, and the casino project would be a great way to help preserve it, officials with the SS United States Conservancy said Monday.

“We thought that we could kill several birds with one stone,” said Dan McSweeney, executive director of the SS United States Conservancy, adding that the group wants to open up a dialogue on the idea. “It solves several problems simultaneously.”

The group says it has the backing of philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, who this year pledged to donate up to $5.8 million to save the SS United States, which is rusting away on the city’s waterfront.

Under the proposal—which would cost $200 million to $300 million and have to be paid for by a public-private partnership— the ship would be moved and docked near the proposed site of the casino and made part of the project, along with a two-story casino building and other development on land.

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