A landmark of Long Beach, California and preserved tribute to luxury travel in a bygone era, the historic Queen Mary ocean liner has closed to undergo what the city calls “critical repairs” necessary to preserve the historic ship.
Built by Britain’s Cunard line in 1936, the luxury ocean liner spent years entertaining posh guests from both sides of the Atlantic — and even spent some time serving the war effort in World War II — before it was retired to Long Beach in 1967.
It has since served as both a tourist attraction and hotel to those wishing to experience the ship’s glory years as an ocean liner.
After enduring years of deferred maintenance, the ship now needs more than $5 million in immediate repairs.
The ship’s lifeboats have deteriorated to the point that it has put stress on the shell of the vessel, and the city said engineers found that was putting cracks in the ship’s support system. Among the critical repairs to be made, the lifeboats will be removed and preserved with the hope the city can find museums or non-profits interested in restoring them.
