Downtown Long Beach is located approximately 35 km south of Downtown Los Angeles, though the two cities border each other for several miles on Long Beach's southwestern portion. The Port of Long Beach is the United States' second busiest container port and one of the world's largest shipping ports. In the harbour, right at the mouth of the Los Angeles River, is permanently docked the Art Deco ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, famous for being the fastest in the world from 1936 to 1952.
Roughly 61m longer than the RMS Titanic, the former Cunard Liner was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, along with her running mate, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, to make voyages between Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York City. With the outbreak of World War II, she was converted into a troopship and ferried Allied soldiers for the duration of the war. She was officially retired from service in 1967, when was purchased by the City of Long Beach for conversion to a hotel and maritime museum.
Adjacent to the Queen Mary exhibit is a large dome which housed, between 1980 and 1992, the Hughes H-4 Hercules, also known as the Spruce Goose, the largest flying boat ever built, which has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history. Intended as a transatlantic flight transport for use during WWII, it was not completed in time. Actually the aircraft made only one brief flight on November 2, 1947. Since 1993 the geodesic dome is used as a venue available for charity, corporate or private events, but also for concerts or as a filming location.
About the stamps
About the first stamp, featuring a portrait of George Washington, I wrote here. The second and the third stamp, dedicated to Ray Charles (1930-2004) and to Johnny Cash (1932-2003), are part of the series Music Icons, about which I wrote here.
References
Long Beach, California - Wikipedia
RMS Queen Mary - Wikipedia
Hughes H-4 Hercules - Wikipedia
Sender: Kimberly Denich
Sent from Stanton (California / United States), on 04.01.2014
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