Rms Foundation

Renovation of the venerable Queen Mary in Long Beach remains at a near standstill amid allegations that the ocean liner's operator owes the main contractor at least $2.6 million and has improperly diverted funds earmarked for the project. The accusations are part of a bitter contract dispute in Long Beach Superior Court that threatens to erode the earnings of the city's icon at a time when the attraction has reported several years of improving profits.

IN WHAT WAS ONCE THE QUEEN MARY'S FIRST-CLASS RESTAURANT, the Little Big Band is swirling swing tunes around two dozen elderly couples who smilingly navigate across the dance floor. It's 12:30 on a weekday afternoon. High on the wall opposite the band, itself an aggregation of white-haired heads, is the ship's famed map of the North Atlantic Ocean with its crystal replica of the Queen Mary.

The City Council rejected two last-minute bids to buy the Queen Mary and voted to lease the ship to a nonprofit group, despite a warning from the city auditor that the group is underfunded. Under the five-year agreement approved Tuesday by the council, local philanthropist Robert Gumbiner will donate $2 million to the nonprofit RMS Foundation Inc. to reopen the tourist attraction later this month. Joseph F. Prevratil, who ran the Queen Mary in the mid-1980s, will oversee operation of the ship.

Preservationist Diane Rush cringes when she looks at the gift and souvenir shops that were recently installed on the historic deck of the Queen Mary, altering the ship's original design. Then she turns her attention to what has not been restored, such as the areas where crew members worked and lived, and the dining area where economy-class passengers ate. The ship's operator "is not putting anything into historic preservation," Rush said.

Fernando Larrea waited patiently, as he has on many recent days, in his photo booth on the deck of the Queen Mary. As some tourists approached, he perked up. "Hello. How about a nice souvenir picture?" he called. The family of four from Bradford, Ark., donned sailor hats, smiled at the camera, paid $5 and walked away snapshot-in-hand to explore the historic ocean liner. Larrea went back to waiting. Three months have passed since the city-owned Queen Mary reopened under Joseph F.

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming. Actually, they're already here. Scorpion, a Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine, has docked alongside the Queen Mary to give Americans a glimpse of the trappings of the Cold War while giving history buffs and maritime fans another reason to visit Long Beach Harbor.

Waving big dollars at cash-starved Long Beach city leaders, the operator of the Queen Mary on said Tuesday he wants to take the famed ship to Tokyo Bay for three to five years in return for making badly needed repairs. Joseph Prevratil, who operates the Queen Mary under a lease from the city, proposed to spend $40 million on improvements to the 60-year-old ship and pay the city $5 million each year it is in Japan. "The Queen Mary needs an overhaul.

To Japanese promoters, it's an irresistible combination: the Queen Mary's fabled history and high-brow exclusivity, the Japanese public's penchant for booms and brand names, and the hottest destination spot in Tokyo.

Many years ago, the French novelist Georges Perec decided to write an entire book without using the letter "e." Impressed by this feat, I resolved to write a column about the Queen Mary without using the term "white elephant" even once. Oops. A fixture on the Long Beach waterfront for 38 years, the dignified old liner is currently at the hub of one of the more baroque bankruptcy cases to land in court in years.

Stephen Young's ghost story begins in the men's room. He finds a woman in there, brushing her hair. He tells her she's in the wrong place and she does not even look at him--just stares blankly at the mirror and turns slowly toward the door. He glances away and when he looks back: "She's totally gone," Young says. He's so startled he searches the area outside this Queen Mary restroom. "I race out into the lobby," he says. "I go around to look for her."