A Thing of Beauty

The first big U.S. luxury liner built since 1939 slid down the ways of Bethlehem's shipyards at Quincy, Mass, last week. She was American Export Lines' 1,000-passenger, $25 million S.S. Independence. Everybody agreed that she was a thing of beauty, fast, sleek and fancy. Britain's Queens (which average 28 1/2-knots) could outrun her, but the ship's 25-knot top speed made her the swiftest thing afloat in the U.S. merchant marine.

Industrial Designer Henry Dreyfuss had planned her fittings, which will take until next January to complete, to combine luxury with some of the casual comfort of a modern U.S. home. Features: staterooms with sofa berths which make them convertible into daytime sitting rooms; "penthouse" apartments (living room, bedroom, two baths, two dressing rooms and private terrace); air-conditioning throughout, including the roomy quarters for the 578-man crew. There are shops, restaurants, cocktail bars, a gymnasium, nursery, theater, library, swimming pool and, to make Americans feel at home, a soda fountain. With the Independence and her twin sister Constitution, to be launched in September, American Export will offer U.S. tourists a crossing from New York to Genoa in eight days.

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