Ummmm, how about docking it in.....ummmmm.....Jacksonville?
Museum sought for KennedyQuotePaul Troxell, founder of the JFK CV-67 Memorial Foundation, is working to find a permanent port for the ship in South Florida. He wants to convert it into the JFK Maritime Museum and base it in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale or in downtown Miami. Officials there have concerns about finding space.
After retiring after more than 30 years in the aeronautics industry, Troxell founded the memorial foundation last January and has been working to preserve the Kennedy ever since.
Troxell was aboard the Kennedy on its trip from Jacksonville to Boston last year, an experience that he "truly enjoyed."
The original idea was to dock the carrier in Boston, but that idea was abandoned due to seasonal, inclement weather conditions and required dredging.
full article: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012508/met_240040689.shtml (http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012508/met_240040689.shtml)
"That would be silly - what would we use it for?"
-Signed, City Officials
Its sad that the thing was here for decades and we're not even in the discussion of possibilities for its final location.
You can't line your pockets with an old ship. duh.
I would love to have it here, but, where could we put it?
This ones easy fella's we just pull er up the Arlington River and use it as a airstrip rather then extend craig...
We could even offer "flex runways" where on tuesdays we plug in the JFK and land the big planes and on Friday they all fly away. Meanwhile we could store it up Orange Creek off the Ocklawaha River below Palatka, We might need to adjust the Shands bridge in Green Cove Springs... hee hee.
Ocklawaha
Quote from: thelakelander on January 25, 2008, 09:58:02 AM
Its sad that the thing was here for decades and we're not even in the discussion of possibilities for its final location.
I agree lake, it's sad we're not in the discussion for the JFK. However, after the huge rigamarole these Jacksonville people raised over possibly making the Super Saratoga a floating museum I would make the JFK a reef in a distant sea before even considering Jacksonville.
What is even more interesting is if this guy pulls this off and the JFK is docked in South Florida as a museum. What do you think the visionless naysayers in this town would say then!!
If we could fit it in front of the ford assembly plant, we could make one huge jacksonville maritime/industry museum
that would never work here it's too creative an idea...
and in Jax we just can't do that. We must keep things conservative and boring...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it can fit under the Dames Point Bridge, and I wouldn't doubt it. they couldnt really put it there due to the fact it is still an active port docking zone, and its not the best place anyways, being completes surrounded by industrial. Talk to LandMar, if it can fit under DPB, put it at Shipyards, ar make a huge memorial park at the old Southbank Generating Station site. I remember their trying to get a smaller ship downtown though.
This would be a great asset to the city and a public face to the Navy here. They could use something that made their role in maintaining a healthy local economy and population more conspicuous. The Intrepid in NY was a great place to spend a Saturday morning, learn some history, and would get you out on the town spending money.
I think the JFK is 129' 4" in height and the Dames Point Bridge is supposed to clear 175' - I love the Ford plant idea! This is the kind of thing that would be a draw to the east bank.
Quotethat would never work here it's too creative an idea...
and in Jax we just can't do that. We must keep things conservative and boring...
Yeah avon, but that was the OLD JAX. That thinking is so last week. ;)
Please forgive me if I'm being ignorant, but what is the significance of this ship?? I never read up on the history of it and only know about it because my high school sweetheart died while working in an enclosed area on the ship in 2004, which brought negative light to Capt. Henderson. Would anyone mind giving me some info. on it's history??
P.S. I'm glad that I found this site, especially since I'm new to the area. Great info. and people on here!
The organization attempting to find the ship a home has some good info...
http://www.savethejfk.com/ (http://www.savethejfk.com/)
Thanks for the link......pretty interesting stuff. Wonder what'll happen to it?
Kudos to fightingosprey07! That is the kind of brilliant, original idea that would go a long way to rescue this "almost" major city from its own inept leadership and potentially bleak future. Besides, can't we get some sympathy points from the Navy - they took the carrier base from us (okay, really from Mayport), so the least they can do is give us the decommissioned hull to be the cornerstone of a new Maritime Museum or exhibit. They can help restore at least some of the local economy they abandoned by decommissioning the vessel. Considering Jacksonville's significant maritime history, this might provide a real starting point for a rejuvenation of the Maritime Museum. With all the local port activity (and expected exponential growth), the current and future port tenants are a ready made pool of potential donators.
This thread prompted me to do a little research. I hadn't realized how long ago we went through this floating museum hype. Well let me put you all at ease. It has about a snowball's chance in hell of coming to fruition.
On August 20, 1994 the Saratoga was decommissioned. A group of folks started a foundation, "Save our Sara". The Saratoga was to be placed on the southbank of the riverwalk as a floating museum and see about a half million visitors per year.
Guess what happened next, the naysayers started, "It's ugly and unsightly against the skyline, you can see it from I-95, a hurricane would rip it from it's moorings and wreck into the bridges." This is just a few things they found wrong. Well if you click on the link below you will see how we as a city failed to raise the funds to make this happen. This city had an opportunity to have something as unique and steeped in history as the Saratoga and totally blew it.
Again I say to all of you newcomers to Jacksonville, choose your battles, this one is pretty much a waste of time and energy. I don't know that much about aircraft carriers but I would assume the Saratoga is pretty much the same size as the JFK. My point is the significance, If the turned down the Saratoga why would the persue the JFK?
If the link doesn't work you can google Saratoga Decommissioning.
http://en.wikiprdia.org/wiki/uss_saratoga_(cv-60)#Decommissioning
Okay, so it might look a little out of place near downtown. But what if we park it on the river behind the zoo, and incorporate it into Ocklawaha's marineland idea. between the zoo, marineland, and the jfk, that would be a true destination. Or maybe it could dock at the navy fuel depot, which is right next to the zoo anyways.
Apparently we're a little late: http://www.wtlv.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=103099
Nice. Especially considering this will be a private funded project, if it succeeds.
Btw, the ships location would be almost in the exact same spot as the one we drew up in a sketch two years ago.
(http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/552/metrojaxforumflyer1kh.jpg)
Here's a rendering of what it would look like docked next to the Acosta Bridge.
(http://www.adamsclassddgvets.org/images102/Fundphoto.jpg)
http://www.adamsclassddgvets.org/