LOCAL SPOTLIGHT – USS MIDWAY MUSEUM
At Navy Pier in downtown San Diego, California, the USS Midway Museum is a historical naval aircraft carrier museum. The aircraft carrier Midway is on display at the museum. The ship is home to a large collection of airplanes, many of which were produced in the state of California.
From 1945 through 1992, the USS Midway was the United States’ longest-serving aircraft carrier of the twentieth century. Approximately 200,000 Sailors served on the carrier, which was notable for various naval aviation firsts as well as humanitarian operations. It was the only aircraft carrier to service throughout the Cold War and beyond. In San Diego, California, it is now a museum ship.
Midway became a museum on June 7, 2004. By 2012, the annual visitor count had surpassed one million. Midway is the most visited naval vessel museum in the United States as of 2015. The museum has approximately 13,000 members and hosts over 700 events each year, including over 400 active-duty Navy retirements, re-enlistments, and command changes. Every year, the museum invites 50,000 schoolchildren on field excursions and 5,000 youngsters in its overnight program. A self-guided audio tour of more than 60 areas, including sleeping quarters, engine rooms, galleys, bridges, brigs, post offices, foc’s’le, pilots’ ready rooms, officers quarters, primary flight control, and “officers country,” is included with admission. Climb-aboard airplanes and cockpits, films, flight simulators, and other features are also available.
The museum has hosted a number of events, including a nationally televised NCAA basketball game between San Diego State University and Syracuse University in 2012. The Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, FOX News, The Bachelor, Extreme Makeover, History Channel, and Military Channel have all recorded episodes on Midway. Since 2017, the museum’s flight deck has hosted the nationally broadcast annual “Battle on the Midway” college wrestling showcase in November.
The number of members has surpassed 25,000. In 2017, the museum introduced “The Battle of Midway Theater,” a high-definition holographic movie theater, and in 2019, it will add a virtual reality flight simulator ride to its four existing flight simulators. The museum will host screenings of the GI Film Festival and the San Diego International Film Festival.
Contact Information
910 N Harbor Dr
San Diego, CA 92101
+1 619-544-9600