Just over a week ago, hundreds gathered along Freedom Pier in Gloucester City and at the South Philadelphia Ikea cafeteria to bid farewell to one of the city’s more (in)famous ships. Fans of the SS United States snapped digital mementos and shared stories of its time as both a functioning luxury ocean liner and a shell of a vessel.

The ocean liner left Philly last week as preparations begin to turn the vessel into the world's largest artificial reef.