state of the USS Olympia

There was an article in the NY Times today on the Olympia's situation as well as the current status of the SS United States (which may be safe from the scrappers for the moment) and the USS New Jersey (which is berthed in Camden NJ, just across the Delaware river, which is also OK for the moment, but which has suffered staff reductions and a further potential cut in funding).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/us/19philly.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Olympia&st=cse

I recall aquote to the effect that, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," and it seems really appropriate here.  Hopefully, the NY Times article will create additional interest here and a solution can be found.

Maybe we need to get Tom Hanks keen on the Spanish-American war.

A miniseries might spark some interest in a conflict few seem to know anything about, or how critical it was to the very shape of our nation.

USS Olympia and the mast of USS Maine are all that is left of that time.  Of TR's Great White Fleet.

Worth preserving for that alone.  Trick will be that any restoration will be like the advice given for winter survival in Canada--after you have collected a night's wood for a fire, go and get five more.  Just the nature of naval restorations.  Possibly harder in Olympia's case, the plate bending and riveting skills required are not at all common any more.  Not sure you are allowed to bed plates with oakum and white lead in the seams, either, for that matter.

There is no reason this ship couldn't be saved.

King Richard II (Chicago's Mayor) somehow found 48 million to spend in the attempt to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.He failed spetacularly!

Unfortunately,a lot of Americans are indifferent to their nations history.

News I didnt want to read. To bad there isnt a way to save her and keep her on dry land instead of her hull rusting away. I guess I need to get down there and take as many pics as I can. This would be a good chance to take accurate measurements and get some plastic models going.

Its funny how the Constitution can be saved and not the Olympia. Both have their own history and should be treated equally.

Reminder to self..............don't make posts after an evening of drinking scotch whether 110 or only 12 years old!

Well i get the the problems with keeping her as an exhibit but she's beautiful and should be saved.....

Tough sledding for would-be museums.  The rules are often arcane, the difficulties complex, and the people involved often lack the scope of experience to appreciate the size of the problem.

A famous or glamorous ship will "draw" better, but as the size (and the fame) increases, so does the work.  Just the exterior painting  is an issue.  Most of the man-hours on USS Texas are in paint maintenance, with accessibility maintenance right after that.

The rules are also there for a reason, too.  You don't want a ship where sailors died in the line of duty turned into a casino or topless joint or the like.  The rules also apply to non-floating ships.  Local Museum of the American GI managed to get a great deal on the island off LPH-2 Iwo Jima when she was scrapped.  They have a full set of plans to lay the deck out in concrete, in the shape of the flight deck, then use the island as the buildings of the museum.  They had the parts cut to trailer size and shipped over.  But, the rules only give you so long to hold the parts.  Right about the time they should have started construction (33 months ago) the economy went in the tank.  So, the pieces parts are off to the scrappers.  Is what it is.

Olympia is going to be in dire straights no matter what.  She's been an exhibit a long time.  And from back in the time when conservation was a coat of paint and weld things either open or shut.  She probably has decades of deferred or neglected decay in her.  This on top of being a century old riveted iron and steel ship.  I can't imagine how difficult it would be to shore and prop her ins a drydock just to survey her properly.   Numbers I've heard for BB-36 are a half million just to put her in the floating drydock--and that dock is only 15-20 miles down the Ship Channel to Galveston..

We've let too many famous ships go to the breakers. We need to make an effort to save her. All the Pearl BB's are gone, the Enterprise, Saratoga, Civil War ships. This is just wrong.

padakr

 

Sprue-ce Goose:

 

USS Olympia is listed online as being in the possession of Independence Seaport Museum.

Is the hull simply on loan from the US Navy or is the museum free to sell the hull for scrap?

 

 

I believe "on-loan" and they can't do anything without the Navy's permission.  And I believe the Navy can take it back at any time if they don't think it is being properly taken care of.  Of course all they would probably do is scrap it, or more likely sink it.  But it wouldn't be allowed to just sit and rust in place.

...or they could give a contract to the same blokes who burned / gutted the Cutty Sark in dry dock while "restoring" the clipper ship.

Sprue-ce Goose

USS Olympia is listed online as being in the possession of Independence Seaport Museum.

Is the hull simply on loan from the US Navy or is the museum free to sell the hull for scrap?

I believe "on-loan" and they can't do anything without the Navy's permission.  And I believe the Navy can take it back at any time if they don't think it is being properly taken care of.  Of course all they would probably do is scrap it, or more likely sink it.  But it wouldn't be allowed to just sit and rust in place.

I am sorry to hear that such a rare ship will be destroyed.  Unfortunately, the Spanish American war is considered by some as an imperialist war of aggression and the ship is viewed as just another hated symbol of America's transition into a world power. 

Those American politicians who could help are currently more concerned with taking taxpayer funded weekly vacation getaways.

At least the USS Olympia survived a bit longer than the USS Oregon.

USS Olympia is listed online as being in the possession of Independence Seaport Museum.

Is the hull simply on loan from the US Navy or is the museum free to sell the hull for scrap?

It is sad, yes - bottom line, keeping old ships above the water is expensive, and you can only "defer" maintenance so long before it turns around and bites you in the butt. Unless the state steps in ... I'm afraid we may start to see more and more of this. States are laying off workers and cutting what many consider to be basic services. Good luck getting a plug nickle for what 95 percent of the population would consider a rusted-out piece of junk.

This really is sad.  Maybe they could publicize her upcoming fate to a higher degree, and possibly get the interest of some of this countries Billionaires.  Get them to pony up a few million each.

Here's a bit more information from the museum itself. This is very sad. From the tone of that press release, there's no hope for the USS Olympia.

A year and a half ago, my son (then 3) and I spent a very enjoyable afternoon on the Olympia and Becuna after wandering through the museum.

Ugh.

I meant to add if would best if they could refit and keep the vessel displayed.

Again, I would posit that a  fresh water location is best to reduce corrosion.

Would not be so bad to sink her if they did it in fresh water as in the Great Lakes then perhaps generations hence who do care and have the funds can raise her.

It's a real shame.  I grew up near Philadelphia and have visited the Olympia several times.  It takes a lot of money to maintain a historic ship.  As I understand it, the ship is basically just rusting away and the hull is down to about 1/8" of steel in places.  If nothing is done, she'll probably sink at her mooring.  The Navy won't let that happen but they're also unlikely to spend the $ to fix her.  If they take her back, it will probably just be to give her a more dignified end. 

Here's hoping for a good resolution.  It would be a shame to lose this incredible part of American history.