First Look at Fla. Museum that Will Commemorate the SS United States

First look at Fla. museum that will commemorate the SS United States

The SS United States is moving ever-closer to its watery resting place off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Okaloosa County and Destin-Fort Walton Beach announced that the first smoke stack of the historic ocean liner was removed Monday, with the second one set to be removed soon. The forward stack and its rear aft funnel — both 65 feet tall, about the height of a six-story building — will be a feature of the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based muse…

Federal court clears path for Okaloosa’s SS United States artificial reef project, dismisses lawsuit

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to prevent Okaloosa County from converting the SS United States into the world’s largest artificial reef, clearing a major legal hurdle for the project. U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers ruled on Aug. 6 that the New York Coalition to Save the Steam Ship United States Inc. lacked constitutional standing to challenge the county’s plan to sink the 990-foot vessel in the Gulf off Destin-Fort Wa…