Based in New York City, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American and maritime history museum. It houses a collection of museum ships. The museum includes and displays the aircraft USS Intrepid, a Concorde SST, the cruise missile submarine USS Growler and a Lockheed A-12 supersonic reconnaissance plane along with many others. The museum was founded in 1982 and was closed in 2006 for a 1.5-year renovation. It was reopened on November 8, 2008, and continues to serve the public till today.
Early Years
As mentioned earlier, the museum was opened in 1982 when Zachary and Larry Fisher, prominent New York state developers along with Michael Stem, a journalist by profession saved the USS Intrepid from being scrapped. It was decided to be used in the museum and had become a landmark at the time. Then on August 8, 1988, the museum was awarded a Grayback-class submarine, USS Growler, designed to carry nuclear Regulus missiles by the United States Congress from the United States Navy. Over the year, extensive renovations have been done to the submarine and were displayed in 2009.
2006-2009 renovation
On October 5, 2006, the museum closed for renovations and repairs to the ship along with the pier. As a result, Intrepid was moved down the Hudson River to The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, New York City so that the restorations could begin. Initially, the ship failed to move from its berth by the tugboats as its propellers were stuck in the thick Hudson river mud. However, it was successfully tugged out the day after, after extensive dredging operations. It was then shifted to Yankee Island where the upgraded facilities were installed and was then returned to the renovated pier in Manhattan. Then it returned to Pier 86 on October 31, 2008, and was reopened to the public o November 23.
Space Shuttle Enterprise
On December 12, 2011, the ownership of the Space Shuttle Enterprise was transferred to the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum. Known as the museum on carrier, the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum allowed the engineers to perform an early evaluation on the space shuttle back in 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again. It was finally moved to the Intrepid on June 3, 2012. Several relocations had to be done to display the shuttle but unfortunately, the exhibit was closed due to the damage incurred by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
Final Word
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is one of the most-visited New York Museums due to its intriguing exhibits and displays. Although it is not that big as compared to other museums but offers a look inside the history of warships. Therefore, do visit the visit if you get the chance to visit New York City.