Tag: navy

Interesting activity around the USS Midway!

Interesting activity could be observed today around the USS Midway aircraft carrier, which operates as a popular San Diego museum.

I noticed during my walk along the Embarcadero that divers were in the water near the USS Midway’s hull. In addition, there was a large section of scaffolding erected against the bow on the massive ship’s port side.

My initial assumption was the hull was being cleaned underwater. I was wrong. I was told the scuba divers in the water were Navy personnel training to do security sweeps.

Someone with the USS Midway Museum told me that Navy SEALs often train near the inactive aircraft carrier, learning how to maneuver underwater. (Years ago I saw them operate in the night near the Star of India.)

As for the scaffolding–I learned the hull of the famous old aircraft carrier is being restored. Removing rust, painting and such. It’s a monumental undertaking!

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A new Navy SEAL exhibit inside America Plaza!

The new Navy SEAL Museum will be opening in downtown San Diego later this year. Meanwhile, I’ve noticed they’re in the process of installing an exhibit on the ground floor of the One America Plaza office building, near the lobby, in a hallway that leads to the trolley station. (The same hallway where the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego used to have exhibits.)

Two of six large display cases now contain U. S. Navy SEAL artifacts. The other four have signs that indicate EXHIBIT COMING SOON.

If you want to check out this developing exhibit, One America Plaza is located at 600 West Broadway. (It’s that tall bluish building with a top that looks like a phillips-head screwdriver!)

Early this year I posted a blog about a large bronze frogman statue that will be placed outdoors near the coming museum. Once installed, you’ll see it beside the America Plaza trolley station across from Santa Fe Depot.

Read that blog post here.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Frogman statue coming to Navy SEAL Museum San Diego!

A large bronze statue that honors Navy frogmen is planned for the new Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego, which is scheduled to open later this year at downtown’s America Plaza.

The impressive statue will stand south of the museum entrance, in an outdoor space that is adjacent to the America Plaza trolley station. (You might recall, how years ago, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego had their Hammering Man sculpture located in the same spot.)

I’m told the diver statue should resemble one now situated at the original Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, in front of their Memorial Wall.

The statue that is coming to San Diego will stand atop a granite pedestal inscribed with the BUD/S classes that become plank owners of the new museum.

The museum’s Plank Owner BUD/S Class Campaign is presently underway. Those who contribute will become part of a legacy that will motivate and inspire generations of Americans for years to come.

As this webpage explains, the museum is reaching out to the Navy SEAL community. Donations are being accepted of any size to help with the construction of the Museum which will preserve our history and tell our stories to the nation.

Every donation will receive recognition on the museum website here. For those Classes reaching the $5,000 goal, the Class Number will be permanently etched into the granite pillar which holds the bronze Navy SEAL Sculpture.

Would you like to inspire future generations, and help build the Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego? Visit their website by clicking here!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Spanish galleon versus an aircraft carrier!

It’s almost New Year’s Day. It’s one of those days when we pause to think about the passing of time.

During a walk along San Diego’s Embarcadero this morning, I took these interesting photographs. They demonstrate how human technology has advanced over the course of five hundred years.

A replica of the 16th century Spanish galleon San Salvador (the ship sailed by explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo when he “discovered” San Diego Bay), built by the Maritime Museum of San Diego, was crossing the water. Just beyond were two active U.S. Navy aircraft carriers docked at NAS North Island: the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

So how do these very different ships compare?

The historic San Salvador galleon was about 100 feet long. The two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have a length of 1,092 feet. That’s more than ten times the length of an old Spanish galleon.

A galleon, built primarily of wood, would have a displacement weight of about 200 tons. The gigantic, mostly steel aircraft carriers? Their displacement weight is 116,800 tons–that’s 584 times heavier!

A Spanish galleon could travel at a maximum speed of around 8 knots (under ideal wind conditions). These enormous, nuclear powered aircraft carriers can travel at a speed over 30 knots, no matter the weather, without refueling for 20–25 years!

Today technology is progressing at a mind-boggling rate. Is it possible to imagine the distant future? In another five hundred years, will an advanced civilization still need or have ocean-going ships?

Only time will tell!

Happy New Year!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

The Flag Raising at Escondido Charter High School.

Five students made of bronze stand around a flagpole in front of Escondido Charter High School. They watch reverently as the American flag is raised.

At the base of the flagpole are two plaques.

Flagpole Donated in Honor of

Ray T. Graddy, LT US Army 1942-1946

William W. Patrick, SR. CPO USN 1948-1969

For their Dedicated Service in the U.S. Military

Phyllis Peuker Raynes, The Flag Raising, Bronze, August 2003

Commissioned by Escondido Charter High School

I took these photographs during my most recent walk in Escondido.

Here’s an article concerning the Valley Center artist, sculptor Phyllis Peuker Raynes, and her creation of this patriotic public art.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Inside the Navy’s landlocked USS Recruit training ship!

The USS Recruit has been humorously called the USS Neversail. Embedded in concrete at the old Naval Training Center San Diego, the landlocked dummy training ship was an official U.S. Navy vessel commissioned in 1949 (and re-commissioned in 1982) that never set sail!

After Naval Training Center San Diego finally closed in 1997 and Liberty Station was developed on the Navy’s old property, the USS Recruit remained in place, slowly deteriorating. Then about ten years ago, the sheet-metal-over-wood-framing mock destroyer received a new paint job.

Last year the USS Recruit finally opened as a ship museum, allowing visitors to enter a large ground-level room inside the training ship. The walls of the museum are filled with historical photographs and video of past service members recalling their unique experiences aboard ship.

I ventured into the free ship museum a couple weekends ago for my first time. I was told that the one room open to the public used to be filled with telephones. Young sailors could use the phones to call home.

Here are a few photos…

Sailors standing on the deck of the USS Recruit circa 1995.

Old photos show construction of the largely wooden USS Recruit in 1949.

USS Recruit commissioning day, July 27, 1949.

One open door allows visitors to peer into an adjacent room.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Super-dreadnoughts and a rare ship’s wheel!

What you see above is very rare. It’s a bronze and wood, 57 inch diameter ship’s wheel. It dates from the Age of Steel Riveted Hull and Steam, 1912 to 1930s. There’s photographic evidence that it might very well have been used in a navy’s super-dreadnought warship!

Joe Frangiosa was super excited to find this rare wheel. His amazing Nautical History Gallery and Museum inside Liberty Station’s Command Center building now features ship’s wheels from five different eras in maritime history. The huge wheel made its first appearance in his museum just a week ago!

Joe confided that this addition has been enormously satisfying. He installed the huge wheel in such a way that people can turn it and pretend to command the high seas. Kids love it!

Joe suggested you all visit his Instagram page here.

Check out my photos of the other four wheels. You might note that rope is tied around one spoke–the king spoke. When that bit of rope is located at the top of a wheel, that means the rudder of the ship is centered. A sailor can steer by feel in dark, stormy or foggy conditions.

The next wheel is made entirely of wood, with wood peg construction. It dates from the Age of Wooden Hull and Sail, 1775 to 1840.

The next wheel is made of iron. It dates from the Age of Wooden and Iron Hull, Sail and Steam, 1840 to 1887.

This next ship’s wheel is polished bronze and shines brightly! It dates from the Age of Steel Riveted Hull, Sail and Steam, 1887 to 1912.

Finally, this ship’s wheel without spokes is also bronze, but unpolished. It dates from the Age of Steel Welded Plate Hull, 1930s to 1945.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Broadway Pier activity during Fleet Week San Diego!

Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego will be bustling with activity all this weekend. That’s because it’s 2024 Fleet Week!

The public can walk out onto the pier Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Veterans Day) and view a variety of displays by the United States military, in particular the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. The event began Friday afternoon, and I arrived in time to check it out.

The first thing one notices are United States Marine Corps combat vehicles and a gigantic howitzer. As I watched, active service members demonstrated the operation of the howitzer. Funny how operators must physically swab the bore after every shot, just as soldiers and sailors did with cannons in olden days.

Wandering about Broadway Pier, one can find a military working dog demonstration from Camp Pendleton, a robot demonstration, organizations that assist Veterans, and a multitude of food trucks near an outdoor entertainment stage.

The public can also tour a Coast Guard cutter and the USS Germantown, a huge amphibious dock landing ship.

I enjoyed exploring the Fleet Week Innovation Zone inside the pier’s Port Pavilion, where a bunch of booths were set up that promote STEM education. When I arrived, the day was drawing to a close and many of the booths were empty, which was a bit disappointing.

I did enjoy a very cool virtual reality simulation of operations aboard an aircraft carrier! Five visitors don VR headsets and become team members, landing and launching aircraft!

I also enjoyed speaking to friendly folks at the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration table, and viewing graphics concerning Naval history in California.

To learn all about the public ship tours and Fleet Week San Diego activities, which will include a Veterans Day Boat Parade on Monday, click here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Vietnam Veterans honored at Fleet Week concert.

A fantastic event kicked off Fleet Week San Diego this evening. At the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, members of Navy Band Southwest joined members of Marine Band San Diego for a spectacular Military & Veteran Appreciation Concert!

The music was rousing, patriotic, and even jazzy at times. But the highlight of the concert occurred before a single instrument was played. A group of Vietnam Veterans were called to the front of the audience in order to be recognized and honored.

Each hero shook the hand of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and received a special cap and Vietnam Veteran Commemorative Pin. Then all who’d been recognized formed a line for photographs.

I took my own photos from a distant bench. You can see the appreciation and the smiles.

If you’d like to learn more about San Diego Fleet Week, which in 2024 runs until November 11, click here! There are free activities available to the public, including tours of Navy and Coast Guard ships!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

The transformation of Building 178 at Liberty Station.

Building 178 at Liberty Station in Point Loma was once a popular destination for Navy recruits. As recreation center for the old Naval Training Center San Diego, it provided a variety of activities for sailors. The sizable building contained a bowling alley and a disco!

Today Building 178 is a bit torn up. I noticed this while wandering around Liberty Station, waiting for a San Diego Bird Alliance event to begin on Sunday.

As I circled the former Navy recreation center, which was built in 1942, I took photos of informative banners attached to the construction fence. They indicate Building 178 is to become the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center, new home of the Cygnet Theatre.

The Cygnet Theatre is presently located in Old Town. They’ll be moving to much larger digs as soon at this major renovation is completed!

Here’s a detailed article if you’d like to learn more.

Historic Preservation Fund…Save America’s Treasures Grants…Renovation of Naval Building 178 into a world-class performing arts venue…This project is being supported in part by a grant awarded by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

A bright new future for Building 178…The Joan & Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center…Future home of Cygnet Theatre…In partnership with NTC Foundation

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.