Battleship IOWA to Include New Surface Navy Museum

Finding a museum located inside another museum?

It can definitely happen, especially if the two places are related in theme and history.

It also goes without saying, and yet we shall, that the first museum should be on the larger side, if another institution, dedicated to a more specialized or specific topic, is to be housed within the initial museum's hallowed halls and walls.

The "larger side" isn't an issue for the Battleship IOWA, in San Pedro, as anyone who has visited the massive vessel, which arrived Southern California in 2011, knows.

And every visitor knows that the "Battleship of Presidents" served in World War II,  and has quite the story to share, which it does through exhibits and events. 

Now the battleship's story will grow, thanks to the upcoming National Museum of the Surface Navy, which will find a home on the ship.

Three phases of work are ahead for the "First National Museum Dedicated to the Surface Navy," with the first set to debut in 2023.

The project will be completed in 2030.

A few early must-knows about the $19 million expansion, which was officially announced on Tuesday, Jan. 15?

The 15,000-square-foot refurbishment will happen by "removing unneeded berths," while a "large outdoor amphitheater" will rise next to the battleship, on land.

Several other construction projects will take place over the next several years, including "an additional 20,000 square feet" of below-deck exhibit space.

The museum's mission? It will seek "... to raise awareness of the United States Navy Surface Fleet's important role in international relations, free trade, humanitarian assistance and technological innovation." 

For more on the upcoming National Museum of the Surface Navy, and the renovation aboard the Battleship IOWA, and what's happening ashore, too, keep a watch on this site.