I utterly adore the RMS Queen Mary! It is literally one of my favorite places on the planet.
The RMS Queen Mary was built in Clydebank, Scotland in the 1930’s. As one of the premier luxury liners of its day, the ship made its first trans-Atlantic crossing in 1936, leaving South Hampton, England, and docking in New York City.
WWII brought with it a massive change to the ship. Painted a light gray, it was refitted to become a troop ship, carrying soldiers between the US and England. All told, there were almost 800,000 troops carried across the Atlantic during WWII.
After the war, the Queen Mary was turned back into the floating luxury liner she was before WWII. However, with the expansive passenger airline industry taking hold of the traveling market in the 1960’s, the Queen Mary was sold to the City of Long Beach, California where she has been since 1967. It is now a hotel and a phenomenal place to literally step back in time and feel what it must have been like to be a passenger aboard this beautiful vessel.
The ship made approximately 1,200 cross-Atlantic voyages during her sailing days. While other luxury liners of her day are now but memories and faded photos, the Queen Mary is the only ship of its kind left, making her even that more remarkable.
You can hear music from the 1930’s and 1940’s as you casually stroll on the decks. Virtually every elegant staircase is filled with the very same songs as would have been heard by the likes of Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, King Edward VIII, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and the list goes on……
I will be posting more photos soon from my recent trip to Los Angeles/Long Beach, California. I feel so much joy from the minute I step aboard this fascinating piece of floating history.
The Chicago Files 