Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum | |
 |
|
  Location of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City
|
|
| Established | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Location | West Side Highway and 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York |
| Director | William White |
| Website | Intrepid Museum |
Coordinates: 40°45′53″N 74°00′03″W / 40.764832°N 74.000763°W
The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is a military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine USS Growler, and a Lockheed A-12 supersonic reconnaissance plane. The museum serves as a hub for the annual Fleet Week events. Visiting warships dock at the cruise ship terminals to the north, and events are held on the museum grounds and the deck of the Intrepid.
Originally founded in 1982, the museum closed in 2006 for a 2 year renovation of the Intrepid and facilities. The museum reopened to the public on November 8, 2008 with William White as its president.
Contents |
[edit] History
The museum opened in 1982 at Pier 86 after Zachary Fisher, a prominent New York real estate developer and philanthropist, and journalist Michael Stern succeeded in saving the Intrepid from the scrap heap in 1978[1]. The USS Intrepid became a National Historic Landmark in 1986[2].
In September 2001, the Intrepid served as temporary field headquarters for the FBI as it began its investigation of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
[edit] 2006-2008 renovation
On October 1, 2006, the Intrepid closed for repairs and renovations to herself and her pier. Intrepid was moved down the Hudson by tugboat to The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, New Jersey (previously the Military Ocean Terminal) to undergo restoration.
The scheduled move was delayed on November 6, 2006 when the ship's propellers stuck in the thick Hudson River mud, preventing the tugboats from moving the ship out of her berth. A second successful attempt was made on December 5, 2006 after extensive dredging operations. The aircraft carrier was later floated to Staten Island where her museum facilities were upgraded and expanded before returning to her renovated pier in Manhattan.
The carrier was towed back into place on the Hudson River on October 2, 2008 and reopened to the public on November 8. Additional aircraft are displayed on the flight and hanger decks and the British Airways Concorde was moved from a barge into an exhibit space on the pier.[3]
[edit] Selected exhibits
- USS Growler (1989), a diesel electric submarine which carried out nuclear deterrent patrols armed with Regulus missiles.
- British Airways Concorde G-BOAD (2004), initially displayed on a barge, but now located on the pier itself.
- The "Intrepid" houses a large collection of aircraft including a British Royal Navy "Supermarine Scimitar", US Navy F-14 Tomcat,an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier, a Lockheed A-12 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (predecessor of the SR-71A), a French Dassault Étendard IV, and a Polish MiG-21. The helicopter collection includes two Vietnam-era UH-1 Hueys, and two AH-1 Cobra gunships - a Marine Corps AH-1J Sea Cobra, and a fully restored Army AH-1 Cobra.
- Armoured fighting vehicles captured from Iraq during the Gulf War.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang. Zachary Fisher, 88, Dies; Helped Alter New York Skyline. June 5, 1999. New York Times. Accessed November 8, 2008.
- ^ USS Intrepid CV 11. United States Navy. Accessed November 8, 2008.
- ^ Pyle, Richard, "Aircraft carrier survived wars, years of decay", Associated Press (printed in the Washington Times, p. 10), September 30, 2008.
[edit] See also
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships
- List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum |
- Intrepid Museum official website
- Intrepid visitor information from National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy
- Image gallery
Coordinates: 40°45′53″N 74°00′03″W / 40.764832°N 74.000763°W
|
||||||||||||||
