Battleship USS Iowa Museum

The Battleship USS Iowa Museum, at 250 South Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro, in the Port of Los Angeles, California, is a floating museum aboard the lead ship of the Iowa-class battleships. USS Iowa, hull number BB-61, was launched in 1942 and commissioned in February 1943, and she measures about 887 feet long. During World War II she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic in 1943 to the Tehran Conference, and then served in the Pacific, supporting carrier operations and bombarding Japanese positions. She was in Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony in 1945 and was recommissioned for the Korean War in the early 1950s. She was modernised in the 1980s, joined the Cold War fleet, and took part in operations that included the 1989 turret explosion that killed 47 sailors, and she was decommissioned in 1990. After years in reserve, the ship was donated and towed to Los Angeles in 2012, opening to the public as a museum run by the Pacific Battleship Center. Visitors can explore the main deck, the bridge, the captain's cabin, crew berthing, the galley and the 16-inch gun turrets. The ship's wood decks, steel hull and tall superstructure show the design of a mid-century warship, and the museum emphasises restoration, with volunteers maintaining the spaces and repairing paint and fittings. Exhibits include a model of the ship, historic photographs and displays on the Iowa class. The curatorial approach is immersive and largely self-guided, with optional guided tours and special tours of areas like the engine spaces or turrets on selected days. Because the ship has steep ladders and narrow passageways, the museum is a physical visit. The location in the harbor also provides views of the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the working port, and it sits near the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and Ports O' Call area.