Global InformationSS Stevens information
40°44′40″N 74°1′22″W / 40.74444°N 74.02278°W
 SS Stevens at Stevens Institute of Technology, Eighth Street Pier, Hoboken, NJ ca. 1970.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Builder | Bethlehem Steel, Sparrow Point Shipyard, Sparrow Point, MD |
| Laid down | 22 December 1943 (as cargo ship) |
| Launched | 10 June 1944 (as USS Dauphin (APA-97)) |
| Sponsored by | Mary B. Cooke (as USS Dauphin (APA-97))[1] |
| Christened | USS Dauphin (APA-97) |
| Renamed | SS Exochorda (1948), SS Stevens (1967) |
| Honors and awards | One Battle star, Navy Occupation Service Medal (as USS Dauphin) |
| Name | SS Stevens |
| Namesake | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| Owner | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| Cost | $130,301 (as SS Stevens) |
| Acquired | October 1967 (as SS Stevens) |
| In service | January 1968 (as SS Stevens) |
| Out of service | May 1975 (as SS Stevens) |
| Nickname(s) | "the Ship" (as SS Stevens) |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 1975. Scrapped in Chester, PA, Kearny, NJ, Raritan Bay port, 1979 |
| Badge | ∫ (Integral symbol) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Hull type C3-S-A3 |
| Displacement | 14,893 tons[2] |
| Length | 473 ft, 1 in[1] |
| Beam | 66 ft, 2 in[1] |
| Draft | 25 ft |
| Propulsion | Disabled (geared turbine engines, single screw, 8,000 hp) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 6 lifeboats including 1 motorized |
| Capacity | 150 student residents[3] [o] |
| Notes | Maritime Commission hull no. 4419 while under construction,[1] later MC hull no. 1675[4] |
SS Stevens, a 473-foot (144 m), 14,893-ton ship, served as a floating dormitory from 1968 to 1975 for about 150 students of Stevens Institute of Technology, a technological university, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Permanently moored on the scenic Hudson River at the foot of the campus across from New York City, this first collegiate floating dormitory[5] became one of the best-known college landmarks in the country.[3]
Twenty-four years prior to her duty as a floating dormitory, the ship served with distinction in World War II as USS Dauphin (APA-97),[6] a Windsor-class attack transport vessel. Originally launched in 1944, Dauphin was awarded one battle star and was present in Tokyo Bay for the Surrender Ceremony of World War II on September 2, 1945.[7]
Following the war, the vessel underwent significant modifications and emerged as the cruise liner SS Exochorda[8] — a member of the "4 Aces", a post-war quartet of ships operated by American Export Lines. During her eleven years of cruise liner service, from 1948 to 1959, Exochorda — along with her nearly identical sister ships in the "4 Aces" — regularly sailed with passengers and cargo on a 12,000-mile (19,000 km) route from New York Harbor to various Mediterranean ports. Exochorda was retired to the US Navy reserve ("mothball") fleet in 1959 where she remained for eight years.
Exochorda's conversion to a dormitory ship, following her purchase by Stevens Institute of Technology in 1967, required only minor modifications such as the connection of land-based water, sewer and electric utilities. Accommodations for the many student residents aboard Stevens included private baths and in-room control of heating and air-conditioning. Featuring portholes, roll-up berths and nautically themed artwork, Stevens became quite popular among her residents.
Purchased by the institute to fill a shortfall in student housing, the ship's operating costs during the initial years of service were comparable to conventional land-based dormitory housing. In later years, however, the ship's burgeoning operating and repair costs, combined with a more favorable housing outlook, forced the institute to sell Stevens in 1975.[9] In tribute, one of her 6-ton anchors was prominently placed on the campus grounds by the graduating Class of 1975. In August 1975, the ship was towed to a shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania, and she was subsequently scrapped in 1979.[1]
- ^ a b c d e Goldberg, Mark (1992). "Caviar & Cargo" The C3 Passenger Ships. Vol. 2. North American Maritime Books. ISBN 978-0685700594.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Floating Dormitory About to Be Scuttledwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "SS Stevens to sail for scrap pile". Jersey Journal. 1975-08-25.
- ^ "The Last Voyage of the SS Stevens". Stevens Indicator. 92 (4). Stevens Alumni Association: 3, 10. Fall 1975.
- ^ "Exochorda Ready For Maiden Voyage" (PDF, fee required). New York Times. 1948-10-27. p. 55. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Allied Ships Presentwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "All Ashore for Classes" (PDF, fee required). Weirton Daily Times (King Features Syndicate). 1968-03-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ Henry, Diane (1975-04-10). "Stevens Students Losing Floating Dorm" (PDF, fee required). New York Times. p. 84. Retrieved 2008-05-01.