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Steamship Leviathan (model)
Catalog #: 324,250,
Accession #: 196,508
Currently on display
From the Smithsonian Collection
This model came to the Smithsonian from the New York City offices of the United States Lines in 1952. It represents the Leviathan, but was probably built about 1914 for the ship's original German owners and subsequently repainted when the ship passed into American passenger service. |
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Physical Description |
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Ship model made of metal, wood, paper, wire, and thread. About 9' long.
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Details |
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Credit: | Gift of United States Lines Company |
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History |
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The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
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