The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: February ninth, remembering the Normandie.

On her maiden voyage in May 1935, the French passenger liner, Normandie was considered the grandest vessel ever to take to the seas. At a time when ocean-going luxury was at its zenith, she set the standard. The first liner with the high, narrow prow of a clipper ship, she was also the first over 1000 feet long. Powered by turbo-electric engines, she once dashed across the Atlantic in four days, three hours and two minutes, setting a record for passenger ships.

In terms of sheer art and elegance, the Normandie would never be surpassed. The French spared no expense on her furnishings. The Art Deco decor of her public rooms was heavy with sculptured glass, gilded statues, huge lacquered panels and Aubusson tapestries. No two suites were alike.

The Normandie made 69 voyages in four years. Her passenger list was studded with a steady stream of the rich and famous; crossing the Atlantic any other way was considered second class. But, like so many noble liners, she came to an early and sad end. Impounded in New York harbor when France fell to Nazi Germany, the Normandie was seized by the U.S. for use as a troop ship. Workmen hurriedly dismantled her precious artwork and fittings, but 58 years ago today, a welder's torch sparked a fire, and within hours, the proud vessel lay on her side in New York harbor. A year later, her hulk was sold for scrap.

The Normandie's equal has never been seen. Of her brilliance, only one set of massive, magnificent door panels remain, "Chariot of Aurora" on permanent display at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

FMI For information on the Normandie Panels Carnegie Museum of Art at 412-366-1212.

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