1st looks at museum that will commemorate the historic SS United States
Smoke stacks removed from SS United States as former ocean liner is prepared for underwater grave
DESTIN-FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- We are getting a first look at a museum that will commemorate the historic SS United States.
The visitors center in Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida, will feature a collection of art and artifacts, and include immersive experiences.
You can see in these renderings the design of the museum evokes the shape of the ship, and is centered around those iconic smokestacks.
The former luxury ocean liner sat docked in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River for decades.
RELATED: SS United States to be stripped, prepared for sinking off Florida's Gulf coast
On Monday, the first of those enormous "funnels," as they're called, were removed from the luxury ocean liner.
They're as tall as a six-story building.
"Soaring six stories high and sloping backward to convey the record-breaking speed of the ship, the iconic structures will form a dramatic centerpiece of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience. The aft funnel is expected to be removed soon after the forward funnel," according to a press release.
The SS United States Conservancy is working with Thinc Design to initiate the museum planning and development process. Thinc's other notable projects include the National September 11 Memorial Museum; the Empire State Building Observatory; Robert Ballard's Challenge of the Deep, focusing on RMS Titanic exploration; and aquariums in Seattle, Miami, and San Francisco, including the new Ocean Pavilion on Seattle's waterfront.
Earlier this year, it made its final voyage and is set to become the world's largest artificial reef in Florida's panhandle, where the museum will be located.
