#grace line

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Fire engulfed Pier 57 on September 30, 1947, sending smoke toward upper Manhattan in the worst fire of its kind in New York history. Estimated damage was $5,000,000 (more than $72 million in today's currency). Firefighters on land and sea worked tirelessly, and fireboats worked for nearly 20 hours before the flames were controlled, but the Grace Line pier crumbled into the Hudson, completely destroyed.

Photo: Gordon Rynders for the NY Daily News via photos.com

[emmieexplores2]

1950

[stone-cold-groove]

He knows... do you... Grace Line - 1944.

[vintageadsmakemehappy]

1954 Grace Line Caribbean Cruise advertising

[vintagepromotions]

Grace Line advertisement announcing its new fleet of 20 ‘Santa’ ships to the Caribbean and South America (1946).

[thepopculturearchivist]

THE NEW YORKER, April 6, 1935 and April 6, 1957

[retrofair]

1952 Grace Line

via Retrofair Vintage Ads & Prints

[bigshipfanatic]

An oft overlooked line is the Grace Line. Grace Line was founded in the late 1800s, with a history lasting almost 100 years. They’re most famous for their “Santa Ships”, like the Santa Rosa and Santa Sofia, and the “Four M’s”. Their passenger and cargo vessels made voyages and cruises to South America, accommodating mostly 1st class patrons. For the time, their vessels were fuel efficient, and unique in that their staterooms had promenades, and some of the dining rooms had retractable ceilings that opened the room to the tropical air (which sounds somewhat unpleasant to me). Like most shipping lines, they did their part in WWII, their ships seeing wartime service, some not surviving. Those that did survive returned to passenger/cargo service after the War, and received new refits. In the early 1950s, Grace Line made all new ships, keeping the names of their former vessels, now more modern and sleek.

The most recognizable and thus most famous of their liners is the Santa Rosa, featuring the aforementioned characteristics, she was built in 1932 and received a post-war refit that added “wings” to her forward funnel only - an experimental design that would later be iconic features on the SS America and United States. She, like all other vessels of Grace Line, was sold to Greece, and renamed Athinai. She was also used as a floating prop for the 1970s film, Raise the Titanic.