Historic aircraft carrier could find a Md. home

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 18, 2004 by Ezra Fieser

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is considering gifting a deepwater pier to a group of veterans planning to tow the world's first super aircraft carrier to Baltimore and turn it into a 1,076-foot-long, floating museum.

A group of veterans that served aboard the USS Forrestal - a relic of the United States' Cold War might that sailed up the Black Sea in the late 1950s to pressure the Soviet Union - have been trying for years to find a Baltimore home for the ship.

After lobbying state officials for more than a decade, the group has gained the support of the Ehrlich administration.

According to a letter from Secretary of Transportation Robert L. Flanagan, the group will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Maryland Port Administration, Department of Business and Economic Development and Department of Transportation.

I am pleased to report that we can offer a framework to allow this worthwhile project and your efforts to proceed, the letter, obtained Friday by The Daily Record, states. The area we are considering for the pier reserve for the USS Forrestal is the North Locust Point Terminal.

The carrier has a remarkable history. It's something that has sparked the governor's interest and he's willing to explore the idea of a museum, Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell said. There are a number of concerns that need to be addressed, including public access and security.

Industrial concerns

In making his decision, Ehrlich could run into opposition from port advocates who have been pushing for the preservation of deepwater industrial land to allow for future expansion of shipping- related businesses.

A spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration, which has lobbied city officials to preserve such land for its own expansion, said the museum is being considered.

We understand the historic significance of the project and there's a lot to consider. They're looking at the whole picture, J.B. Hanson, the spokesman, said. There's the issue of space, along with all the other things that will come into play.

If the pier is secured, the veterans' group said it will launch a capital campaign aimed at raising the nearly $15 million needed to rebuild the pier and tow and rehabilitate the ship, said John F. Jack Lawler Jr., vice president of operations for USS Forrestal Museum Inc.

We're solid, Lawler, who served on the ship in the 1950s, said about the fundraising. We have donations lined up that are just waiting for us to secure the site. The period of time could be as short as two years before [the ship is] here.

The Forrestal is currently docked in Rhode Island and needs extensive work before it can be used a museum.

The group, a nonprofit based in West River, estimates the museum could create $13 million to $16 million annually in new tourist spending.

The group said it has assurances the museum would be dedicated a national historic site. Drafting off the popularity of the adjacent Fort McHenry historic site, the Forrestal museum would be financially self sustaining at $8.50 per admission, Lawler said.

The group has likened the potential for the Forrestal to similar floating museums in San Diego, New York, Hampton Roads, Va., and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Former Naval ships in those cities have attracted federal grants and bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. Located in the larger tourist market of Manhattan, the USS Intrepid attracts upwards of 550,000 tourists each year. Forrestal promoters believe a Baltimore museum would attract more than 300,000.

Terminal tie-in

Although the donation of the pier is not a done deal, it has the potential of also serving as a new cruise ship terminal for Baltimore. In relocating the cruise terminal from Dundalk, state officials have been choosing between the North Locust Point and an East Baltimore location.

The work to shore up the pier for the Forrestal would also make the site functional as a cruise terminal.

In a recent interview, Secretary of Business and Economic Development Aris Melissaratos said introducing cruise passengers to a new museum would provide a boost for Baltimore tourism.

How wonderful would it be to have a terminal next to a new super aircraft museum for the Forrestal, he said earlier this month.

The secretary is very supportive of the Forrestal museum, spokesman Dyer Bell said Friday. It would be a great opportunity to bring more tourists to Baltimore and Maryland as a whole.

All parties have agreed that the ship's history warrants it a permanent home.

Named for the first secretary of defense, James Forrestal, the ship was the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier when it was commissioned in 1955. It is credited with ushering in the age of the super aircraft carrier, a model for the ships used today.

At 25 stories tall and more than 250 feet wide, the Forrestal weighed 81,300 tons when fully loaded and in operation. It carried more than 80 aircraft and a crew of nearly 5,500.

It suffered a disastrous fire during the Vietnam War when, stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, nine 1,000-pound bombs exploded on the flight deck, killing 134 crew members and injuring 68 others. One of the bombs fell from the wing of the plane of now Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz.