Hidden wonders of Philly’s industrial past can be seen from Delaware River

If you find yourself on the Delaware River, you can explore a world that few Philadelphians truly know about.

A blue skyline towers over the widening river like a mountain range as relics of Philadelphia’s industrial past dot the waterfront.

Many of its piers have fallen into decay and disrepair and sit empty. Other docks and buildings have been repurposed into commercial storage units. 

The visible post-industrial abandonment and decay makes the goal of an accessible and beautiful waterfront stretching from the tip of South Philadelphia all the way up and around the curve of Northeast Philadelphia possible to imagine. 

It’s been done before in places like New York City and Boston, but whether or not Philadelphia can succeed in such a task remains to be seen. 

Docked in the Navy Yard, the decommissioned USS John F. Kennedy was scheduled to be transported to Brownsville, Texas, to be scrapped over a year ago. However, an osprey family built a nest atop the towering bridge of the ship. 

Protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the ospreys have rendered the ship immovable so as to not disturb the birds. 

Until the ospreys move and leave their nest, the USS John F. Kennedy will stay put.

The SS United States has been a mainstay on the Philadelphia waterfront for decades.

Its massive smokestacks jut into the sky and tower over old rusty industrial buildings and docks along the banks of the river.

The ship was built in 1951 and used as a transatlantic passenger vessel, with the ability to be converted into a wartime soldier transport. It broke the transatlantic speed record for an ocean liner before its retirement in 1969 — a record that still stands today.

The future of the SS United States remaining docked in Philadelphia has come to a close, however.

A lawsuit over a rent dispute and an order from a judge to remove the ship from its dock has forced the ship to find a new home. According to the court order, the ship must depart from its nearly 30-year home by Sept. 12.

Unlike the SS United States, the Moshulu has been reconfigured for Philadelphian use.

Built in the early 1900s and used by the Germans in World War I, the Moshulu was taken by the Americans as a war prize following the war. 

It’s now used as a restaurant on the Delaware River. Situated at the southern end of Penn’s Landing, the ship’s masts crane over the choppy waters and can be seen from many different points in the city.