On this day, sixty nine years ago, the great French luxury liner SS Normandie caught fire at Pier 88 on the Hudson River in New York City.  The fire burned out of control and the next day the ship capsized at the dock. The liner had been seized by the United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette at the beginning of World War II. She was in the process of being converted to a troop transport when she caught fire.   Her elegant interiors were being ripped out.   It is believed that an arc from a welding machine set fire to the partially stripped ship.

When the SS Normandie entered service in 1935, the 83,000-ton, 1,028-foot long liner was the largest and fastest passenger ship ever built.  Many consider her to be the most beautiful as well, with elegant art deco interior spaces.   Fortunately not all record of the glories of the Normandie has been lost. The South Street Seaport Museum in New York has been hosting an exhibit: DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie. Initially intended to run through January, it has been extended through April.  (Note: the website has not been updated. It still shows the exhibit closing in January. )  Definitely worth seeing if you are in the area.

The exhibition at New York’s South Street Seaport museum will feature original interior works by the famous Deco artists that beautified her decks, showing visitors just why Normandie captured the imagination of the world before her tragic end in 1942. The displays will also showcase original furnishings, rare passenger photographs, video footage, voyage logs, uniforms, fashion accessories, and commemorative items from Normandie’s maiden voyage.

Burning of S.S. Normandie 1942

Thanks to Steamboat Bill for tweeting about the anniversary.