Statue of Freedom [BLSart.com]
Though it's nothing like the nausea we suffer after scarfing churros all day at Pico Rivera street festivals, it still takes us about four hours to adjust to the gently bobbing hotel inside RMS Queen Mary. Focusing on the room's reddish-brownish carpet stains doesn't help. But perhaps one of these bidders will:
Just hours before Friday's 5 p.m. deadline to submit bids for the Queen Mary's lease, two developers and an off-beat artist emerged as potential buyers - paving the way for a bidding war over the historic ship and its surrounding acreage. An auction is set for Aug. 14 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court... KUD International - $44 million - Builder of Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach's World Trade Center, teaming with Christopher Damon, the Pacific Palisades developer behind CineSpace (Hollywood) and Surfparks (Orlando).
O&S Holdings - $41 million - A "stalking horse bid" from the only "financially qualified" bidder.
Save the Queen LLC - $43 million - Newport Beach developer Jeffrey Klein and golf-resort developer Hix Rubenstein.
Brett-Livingstone Strong - $43 million - Artist who wants to build a bronze Statue of Freedom with a 20-foot tall face modeled after Princess Diana.
Turns out Strong sees his Statue working equally as well near downtown LA (see above) as he does in Long Beach. Oh, there's the nausea again.
· 4 will bid for Queen Mary [Long Beach Press Telegram]
· Statue of Freedom [BLSart.com]