Battleship USS IOWA Museum, a top five museum and attraction in the Los Angeles area and future home of the Congressionally-designated National Museum of the Surface Navy, celebrates the 80th anniversary of its commissioning this week. Commissioned on Feb. 22, 1943, USS IOWA (BB-61), nicknamed “The Big Stick” in reference to the famous quote from President Theodore Roosevelt, served over a period of nearly 50 years spanning World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.
USS IOWA, the namesake of the last class of battleships, was decommissioned on Oct. 26, 1990. In 2011, the Secretary of the Navy awarded USS IOWA to the nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center, and the historic ship was towed to her permanent home at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, where she began her current phase of service as Battleship USS IOWA Museum on July 4, 2012.
Affectionately nicknamed “the Battleship of Presidents,” USS IOWA has welcomed several United States commanders-in-chief over the course of her service. Today, Battleship USS IOWA has become a community platform that delivers programs supporting education, veterans and community. In 2025, the ship will become the home of the high-tech, immersive National Museum of the Surface Navy, the first and only national museum dedicated to the men and women of the Surface Navy.
The public is encouraged to visit Battleship USS IOWA Museum to tour the ship and learn more about her long and storied history. To learn more about USS IOWA and the tours, experiences, and food options aboard the historic battleship, visit: pacificbattleship.com/museum_visit/
