Asbestos, a fire retardant, was used in copious amounts on the SS United States. Sadly, this led to the gutting of the ship in 1992, when she was towed to Ukraine and her interiors were entirely stripped of the toxic material–and nearly everything else.
I took these photos in 2008 and 2009.
View from the crow’s nest
Looking down from inside the crow’s nest
About the author
Matthew Christopher has had an interest in abandoned sites since he was a child, but started documenting them a decade ago while researching the decline of the state hospital system. While he originally had no formal education in photography, Matthew is currently studying for an MFA in Fine Art Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology. He has had gallery shows across the US, lectured on abandoned spaces and mental health history for the Pennsylvania State Museum, Preservation Pennsylvania, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and others, and his work has been featured in several publications including Photographer's Forum, the International Journal of Arts and Humanities and the United Nations Chronicle. His website, abandonedamerica.us, has gained international attention and is considered one of the leading collections of images of abandoned spaces on the internet.
© 2011-2013 Hidden City Philadelphia |
I have dreamed of getting on board this ship and photographing her. It’s great you got to, especially since her future is so unsure.