USS Olympia

[Avenger]

Looks like another American legend may be headed for the scrapper. With all the $$$ our government pisses away every minute you'd think they could spend a few shekels on preserving a historical icon. Oh wait, I forgot, American history is something to be ashamed of in a P.C. world.


Olympia, 2-war naval veteran, battles for survival
Associated Press/AP Online

By JOANN LOVIGLIO
PHILADELPHIA - The USS Olympia, a one-of-a-kind steel cruiser that returned home to a hero's welcome after a history-changing victory in the Spanish-American War, is a proud veteran fighting what may be its final battle.

Time and tides are conspiring to condemn the weathered old warrior to a fate two wars failed to inflict. Without a major refurbishment to its aging steel skin, the Olympia either will sink at its moorings on the Delaware River, be sold for scrap, or be scuttled for an artificial reef just off Cape May, N.J., about 90 miles south.

The 5,500-ton Olympia's caretakers monitor every inch of its deteriorating lower hull and deck, already covered with hundreds of patches. Independent inspectors have concluded that the ship could decay to a point beyond saving within a few years if nothing is done.

"It's an absolute national disgrace. It's an appalling situation," said naval historian Lawrence Burr, author of a book on Olympia. "She is a national symbol, and she marks critical points in time both in America's development as a country and the Navy's emergence as a global power."

Olympia, which gets about 90,000 visitors annually, closes to the public Nov. 22 to await its fate. Visitors to the museum pay up to $12, which includes the chance to board the warship.

Since taking stewardship of the floating museum from a cash-strapped nonprofit in 1996, the Independence Seaport Museum has spent $5.5 million on repairs, inspections and maintenance. But it can neither afford the $10 million to dredge the marina, tow the ship to dry-dock and restore it to fighting trim, nor the $10 million to establish an endowment to care for it in perpetuity.

"She's an icon," said Jeffrey S. Nilsson, executive director of the Historic Naval Ships Association in Smithfield, Va. "She's worthy of being saved."

Efforts to secure private or public funding have been unsuccessful, a stark reminder of recessionary times. Museum officials are reluctantly mulling whether to scrap the National Historic Landmark, said to be the world's oldest steel warship still afloat, or have the Navy sink it off the coast of Cape May.

The 344-foot-long protected cruiser ideally should have been dry-docked every 20 years for maintenance. Instead it has been dutifully bobbing - and quietly wasting away - in the Delaware since 1945 without a break from the wind and waves.

The waterline is marked with scores of patches, and sections of the mazelike lower hull are so corroded that sunlight shines through. Above deck, water sneaks past the concrete and rubberized surface layers, past the rotting fir deck underneath, and onto the handsomely appointed officers' quarters below.

"She generally looks good for her age, but her expensive pre-existing conditions make it daunting," said Jesse Lebovics, longtime caretaker of Olympia. "We're still hoping someone will step up. We're hoping for an 11th-hour reprieve."

Two local nonprofits - Friends of the Cruiser Olympia and The Cruiser Olympia Historical Society - are striving to drum up money, manpower and publicity from other historic preservation groups, veterans organizations and corporate sponsors.

"We don't want to see the ship reefed and the museum doesn't either," said Jay Richman, president of Friends of the Cruiser Olympia. "We're optimistic that a bunch of small groups working together for a common cause can save the ship."

Olympia steamed out of San Francisco in 1892 and served most notably as flagship of the Asiatic Squadron in the Spanish-American War.

Its vertical reciprocating engines, refrigeration system and hydraulic steering previewed the technological advances to come; its vestigial sails and oak-paneled, parlor-like officers' quarters marked the passing Victorian era.

From Olympia's bridge on May 1, 1898, during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Phillippines, Commodore George Dewey uttered the famous command: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." The Spanish fleet was decimated, making Dewey - and the Olympia - national heroes.

In a letter home after the victorious battle, Capt. Charles Gridley wrote: "We did not lose a man in our whole fleet, and had only six wounded, and none of them seriously. ... The Olympia was struck seven or eight times, but only slightly injured, hardly worth speaking of."

The ship later was active in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean, served as a Naval Academy training vessel, and took part in the 1918 Allied landing at Murmansk during the Russian Civil War.

Its final mission was bringing home the body of World War I's Unknown Soldier from France in 1921. The vessel was decommissioned in 1922 and was largely forgotten until it was nearly scrapped in the 1950s - and local citizens rallied with donations and labor to bring it back from the brink.

Olympia opened as a museum in 1958 but funding woes and threats of sale or scrap have been part of its history ever since. The Seaport Museum itself has weathered its own share of storms, most recently in 2008, when a former president of the organization was convicted of bilking the institution of more than $1 million.

Meanwhile, two other beleaguered vessels nearby are similarly awaiting saviors: the USS New Jersey battleship across the river in New Jersey and the historic 1950s cruise ship SS United States three miles downriver.

"There's a lot of need out there, and the economy makes it worse ... but we really can't wait," Lebovics said.

---

Online:

Independence Seaport Museum: http://www.phillyseaport.org

Friends of the Cruiser Olympia: http://www.cruiserolympia.org

The Cruiser Olympia Historical Society: http://www.tcohs.org

[Passages]

Here's a pic

[stormchaser]

Is that recent? She looks pretty good. ???

[rsmith]

Its sad to see these old ships go. My father was part of 5 investors back in the early 70's that tried to save the presidential yacht "Williamsburg" It was a failing resturant docked at Salem NJ at the time. There was a lot of build up for the 76 Bicentenial and it was supposed to be moved and parked next to the Olympia but the Bicen was a big flop. The ship ended up in Italy half sunk. The ship had these huge opposing cylinder Winton engines in it. I remember my father was selling the pistons out of the engines for $1500 ea just to keep the project afloat.I still have some of the deck cleats. I also have a pic of Churchhill smoking a cigar with his foot on one of the cleats.(he and Truman had many meetings on the boat to discuss the war) Its sad to lose the reminders of our history.

[DCMY #92]

I toured the Olympia on Wednesday of this week. She looked to be in better condition than many of the much younger WWII museum ships I have toured (at least in the areas open to the public). I didn't see any signs posted regarding the need for contributions for critical major refit.

I hope this article is hype and not reality. If funding for significant work is needed, the museum that owns Olympia is doing us all a disservice not to make it known "loud and clear". This vessel is very unique - oldest steel warship afloat, first lightweight triple expansion steam engine, first warship with mechanical refrigeration equipment, and an obvious combination of fighting sail and steamship features. It would be a grave mistake to let her deteriorate.

[Avenger]

I was on her about 8 years ago and didn't see any obvious signs of problems, but you really couldn't get below the main deck so there may have already been issues then.

As far as history goes, if you ever get a chance to read "Birth of the American Century" by Ron Ziel it really shows how this ship is a focal point for America becoming a global superpower. As Dewey's flagship she was key to the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the Phillipines which claimed Wake, Guam, and Midway as U.S. territories setting the stage for the Pacific War. Then she had to steam quickly around Cape Horn to get to Cuba to support, among others, Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders leading to T.R.s fame and, while proving the quality and technology of American shipbuilding by making the passage without incident, also provided impetus to the Panama Canal project under T.R.'s presidency. Of course, freeing Cuba from the Spanish also left us with Gitmo and a whole other legacy of events.

The Spanish-American war was probably the second most significant war in our history which set the stage for events for the next 100 plus years and this ship was in the thick of it all. Definitely too significant an artifact to let go.

[Bill Allen]

I was very lucky when we toured it a few years ago. The guide heard us talking about diving the san diego and other 'vintage" wrecks. He offered to take us though the whole ship, bilges boilers whole nine yds. My feelings were the public spaces weren't two bad but it was quite a diferent story where the public wasn't allowed. The volunters do a very admirable job trying to keep up and are very proud of what they've done, and it shows. But they don't have the resources it takes to truely adress all the ships problems. The decks leak, they've concreted some in the bilge and frankly it is what it is a thumb in the dike repair program despite how much work they put in it. It really needs to come out of the water (requiring dredging, as she sits on the bottom) and have a lot of hull work. They can't raise the money and sooner or later they'll have to let it go. Bill

[67hat34c]

Hull in bad shape, rusted through and it is constant battle to keep her afloat.

[Nonchalant1]

Could they do what they did with the USS Alabama and sink concrete into the ocean floor and simply weld the boat to it above the high tide mark? She'd stay right there and look like she was floating real high, but be safe regardless of rusted through hull. Could even hole the bottom and let the tide rise and fall in the bilge?