For the first time in 40 years, the city of Long Beach will both own and operate the Queen Mary.
Eagle Hospitality Trust, the most recent holding company for the Queen Mary, which has docked in Long Beach for 54 years, filed for bankruptcy in January. Though the City of Long Beach has always owned the ship, it has leased it to private organizations since 1967.
Those organizations reaped the profits from tourists lured to the ship. But they were also responsible for maintenance, a cost that overwhelmed many of them.
Eagle Hospitality had big plans, but like its predecessors, couldn't keep up with the maintenance. When it filed for bankruptcy in January, the ship's fate was unknown. Long Beach ultimately reclaimed the ship, and its hefty maintenance bills.
Long Beach will be r...
