Number One, Broadway

I wrote a letter to the Maritime Administrator today. I hope he reads it.

May 25, 2018

Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, USN, Retired
Maritime Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue., SE
Washington D.C., 20590

Dear Admiral Buzby,

With the recent sale of Number One, Broadway to a real estate developer, the last vestiges of the United States Lines are under the imminent threat of destruction. New York Post reports the new owner of the property will convert the space into condos. As often happens in New York, old interiors are demolished to make way for the new. The few remaining objects of the United States Lines are worth preserving not only due to their intrinsic beauty but because they are touchstones of another age – one often evoked to remind the nation and legislators the importance of a robust civilian Merchant Marine. As the ultimate custodian of our nation’s maritime history, perhaps you may use your good offices to save these jewels of our past.

The history of the United State Lines and its parent company International Mercantile Marine is inextricable from the rise and fall of American preeminence in shipping during the twentieth century. The original formation of United States Lines as a compact between the Federal government and private shipping industry was unprecedented and inarguably set the stage for the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. The ships of the United States Lines inspired generations of Americans; society pages of leading newspapers highlighted the comings and goings of its passenger liners during the 1930s, thus offering an improvised nation hope for better times. Masters such as George Fried and H. Pedersen executed daring sea rescues to great public acclaim; the former received twenty-seven awards and a number of parades down Broadway for saving lives. When the Second World War came, the officers and men of the United States Lines trained a nascent Merchant Marine Cadet Corps at Kings Point, while others commanded around 300 freighters – one of them, SS Nathaniel Greene earned the coveted title of Gallant Ship. Post-war, the leadership of the company blundered yet produced the magnificent SS United States – a ship that still holds the Blue Riband for the trans-Atlantic speed record. As meteoric was the company’s successes, as was it’s fall.

Today artifacts from the glory days of the United States Lines are scattered. Successive moves have resulted in neglect and discarding much of its headquarters’ original contents. What now remains at Number One, Broadway is surreptitiously available to the public in the building’s lobby and the retail floor of the current tenant, CitiBank. In the lobby is a stunning globe light fixture – the only of its kind since its twin came crashing down years ago – and a stunning marble staircase slated for removal – undoubtedly by a jackhammer and torch in an upcoming renovation. The bank has beautiful murals showing the original tenant’s shipping routes, and a magnificent 4-foot long polished brass model of an old-style United States Lines passenger liner. Original ballroom-style light fixtures light the bank, and it still has some IMM-logoed metalwork near the entrance. The public has a hint of the once grand opulence of the place.

Given the significant cultural and historical value of the United States Lines and the unique nature of what remains, for everything to disappear would be a considerable loss. If your administration has contacts with the buyer – Midtown Equities – or perhaps the seller’s broker – Cushman & Wakefield – they may be worth querying to see if any of the art may be saved or placed in a safe location to be conserved and appreciated by the American public. Immediately nearby is your museum – the American Merchant Marine Museum at Kings Point; it is in a grand, old Gold Coast mansion, and does have United States Lines ship models, and a few items from the fleet including a flag and a hat – but nothing from the old headquarters itself.

I hope this letter will inspire you to look at the United States Lines objects not so much as a relics requiring preservation, but as inspiration as to what America once was and can be again.

Sincerely,

Ian Watts