Mayport's first supercarrier...
Once envisioned as Tampa museum, 'Forrestal' goes to scrapyard QuoteTAMPA — The old aircraft carrier that some dreamed of bringing to Tampa as the world's largest floating museum has set off on its last voyage — to the scrapyard.
The USS Forrestal, the first of the post-World War II super carriers, was towed Tuesday out of Philadelphia, bound for a scrapping facility in Texas.
A dozen years ago, a group of Tampa boosters fought to raise $10 million to bring the carrier to the Ybor Channel in Tampa's port. They envisioned the museum drawing a half-million tourists a year and doubling as a hurricane shelter and convention center.
Critics doubted that the 1,086-foot carrier would draw big crowds and worried that it would become a black hole for tax dollars.
In January 2002, the effort died. John Kercher, chairman of the local group, said the drive had raised $1.2 million but got caught in a Catch-22 — donors refused to give money until the Navy awarded Tampa the carrier, and the Navy wouldn't award it without assurances that Tampa had the money to take care of it.
Now the Navy has paid 1 cent under a contract to have the 60-year-old vessel dismantled.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/once-envisioned-as-tampa-museum-forrestal-goes-to-scrap-yard/2164343
I saw them working on it (taking stuff out before scrapping it) when I was at the Philly Navy Yard back in 2010.
So pay 1 cent to scrap it is better than getting $1.2 million from Tampa under the concern that Tampa couldn't take care of it. Only in the military/government does that make sense.
Floating museums have a shelf life unfortunately. Unless it has some major historical significance (ie: USS Missouri) their appeal can be limited. Any retired naval ship is expensive to maintain, but a former carrier is near prohibitive.
Long Beach CA had 2 floating museums right next to each other and it wasn't enough as they ran deficits almost every year.
The City of New York tried to save the WWII era carrier USS Enterprise in the 1950's to no avail. They ended up with the Intrepid much later.
We can't save them all. The USS Iowa just landed in the Port of Los Angeles last year, but it took years and years and lots of funding from the State of Iowa to make it happen.
This is a good lesson for all of Jacksonville with the USS Adams or other ship that they want to put downtown. Have to have the money before the Navy will commit the vessel. Said about the Forrestal, went on it as a kid, the XO's son when to my grade school. What I remember was the rubberized deck, it was cool to walk around on it.