I have been meaning to visit The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum for well over a year now. But sadly it has not been my fault. I was literally a week from going when New York City and the tri-state area were hit by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012. Sandy was quite a minx and did quite a lot of damage. There are still large portions of lower Manhattan that are without power and/or have not been rebuilt. Some will never come back. Perhaps what I am saddest about is The South Street Seaport Museum. I had recently been there to see the Titanic exhibit in May 2012 (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/05/for-relics-from-sea-south-street.html) and
had enjoyed it so. Hopefully if the museum cannot reopen many of the exhibits that can be saved will relocate to the Museum of The City of New York.
Thus
I was further disheartened once the dust had settled and the water retreated,
and I realized my trip to the Intrepid was canceled. I was sadder still when I
found out how much damage had been done and where the main problems laid. As
the Intrepid is in the Hudson River it had naturally taken quite a beating.
Their new exhibit: Enterprise Space Shuttle Pavilion was wrecked and it would
not reopen until 2013! Now I was angry!
After
much hard work the main exhibit of The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
reopened eight weeks after the storm on December 21, 2012. For 2012, they had
an impressive one million visitors despite their closure and my absence.
However, I did not want to go without the Space Shuttle open because I knew
that was one of the many reasons I would be attending. For this I would have to
wait many more months.
Finally
on July 9, 2013 the Enterprise Space Shuttle Pavilion reopened and the museum
was whole once again. Actually there are a few minor shops that sold food and
gifts that have been relocated to another spot on the site as they are still being worked on. But for the most part visitors can now see all they came to see and
enjoy the beauty and the history.
It
is at this time I should tell you the reason I so badly wanted to visit the
Intrepid. But I should probably tell you first that this was not my first time
at the Intrepid. I had been here once before with my family when I was about
fourteen or fifteen. Of course at that age I didn’t care the way I did now but
I remember walking on the flight deck and seeing the retired planes and even
walking through the inside and seeing all the relics from different missions
and wars, although I couldn’t recite them to you off the top of my head. I
would show you the picture we had taken in front by the official souvenir taker
that day but I would not do that to my family. I of course always looked this
stunning.
Now
that I am older, and appreciate history more I wanted to go back. I pass it all
the time on the West Side Highway and I know that my fancy Cannon Rebel camera
would love it there. We make a great pair. Yes my camera and I have good times
together and create beautiful images. I was anxious to see how I could move
around that space and what I would be motivated to photograph. Finally a place
where my camera and its flash were welcome. My Christmas miracle came early this year.
As
for the infamous Space Shuttle, this will be the last time I use this official
phrase. Although I have been mocked for saying this, to me it is a rocketship
plain and simple. Technically it went into the atmosphere and not outer space
but this isn’t a pop quiz. If I was on The Big Bang Theory perhaps I would know
better. But it is my favorite phrase to use and I plan on typing it as much as
possible right now. I gather from
what I hear that the rocketship is where the fire is that blasts the space
shuttle into the air but that’s where I start to nod off. Either way I figure I
am in the right general area.
I
had been planning this nice day out with my cousin for months and the when the
day we settled on arrives, it becomes the coldest day in New York City of the
year. No, seriously. The wind was so aggressive I could have sworn I blew past
Chicago. I was light as a feather despite my purse and camera around my neck
easily adding twenty pounds to my frame. The three blocks I walked from my car
to get to the entrance were exhausting. I felt like I conquered a demon.
Needless to say it also felt like it was ten degrees below zero which the wind
was not helping. But luckily the weather and wind were my only complaints on
this outing and they weren’t very strong complaints as you are mostly inside
for this visit.
The
first thing we did was to venture on to The Growler which is the only American
operated strategic missile open to the public. This submarine became part of
this museum site in 1989. The Intrepid itself is celebrating its thirtieth
anniversary.
Where do I begin? I knew
this wasn’t going to be fun when I had to crawl through a submarine like hole
to get to the souvenir photo that they make you take in the beginning and me
and my camera got stuck. I began to sweat and have a panic attack. The man
working there proceeds to tell me there will be about six of these in the
submarine and I already knew it would be a tight fit from an experience I had
in Mystic, Connecticut many years ago and simple common sense. This ought to be
interesting I thought to myself.
My cousin had brought a
friend so we worked out a system: she went first and took my camera, and then I
pushed/struggled through with the help of my cousin who came in last. After
many tight fits amazingly I survived and tried to appreciate how anyone could
live on these things for months at a time, but it’s incomprehensible. It was so
fascinating to see how many people slept on those tiny bunk beds piled on top
of each other, the tiny kitchen, the control room, and the room that had a bed
and the torpedo it in too.
Next
we walked across the deck onto the Intrepid and went all the way to the top. It
was such a great spot to take in the city and also the collection of planes
they have there. There are a number of impressive sites the most memorable are
the Grumman Intruder, Lockheed Blackbird, as well as the Intrepid’s own
recovery plane and those that have flown in Vietnam and World War II.
From
here we walked towards my favorite: the Enterprise.
We
actually went here directly from the first floor of the Intrepid because this
exhibit entrance is behind the planes you will see. It is the easiest way to go
about it. Then you can take the elevators down to the second and ultimately the
third and final floor of the Intrepid to complete your visit.
When
you enter from the flight deck, you walk into a hall where there are signs
displaying famous quotes from NASA that you are hearing above. It is
incredible. My favorite was:”Houston is a go for takeoff”. From there you are in the exhibit and
are surrounding by the history, story, and even pop culture all to do with the
Enterprise.
One
of the things I learned was that it was originally going to be called
Constitution in honor of the bicentennial and scheduled to be unveiled on that
anniversary. However, with the help of over four hundred thousand Star Trek
fans and their pleas to President Ford the name was changed to Enterprise for
their fictional starship. This is interesting and scary now that I think of it.
Among
the other cool things to see here is the Russian orbit module that flew in
space. It slept three people and I can’t even imagine fitting my purse in
there.
On
March 13, 2013 Enterprise was the first space shuttle to be listed on the
National Register of Historical Places. A favorite list of mine no doubt.
Since
the Enterprise is so tall they had a platform you could climb up to for taking
photos and for a panoramic view. I stayed there longer than most. It was
breathtaking. I was staring at something most people never get to see (you know
if you don’t count those one million from last year). Even still it felt
special. Imagine how much more special it feels to be part of the club that
works with them.
After
taking my many photographs and stopping to sit on a bench and stare at my
rocketship it was time to move on and inside to the second floor of the Intrepid.
Side note- this museum has benches in every location where you can sit, get
organized, and take it all it. I love that!
The
second floor does not look like it has a massive amount of history documented
within its walls but boy does it ever.
I walked in and made a right turn and felt like I would never hit the
end. This is where those benches come in handy. One of the highlights are the
film they show telling the story of the Intrepid. Towards the end when they say
you are standing on a spot where so many lost their lives it is utterly
chilling. You almost can’t believe you are standing inside that enormous ship
you walked towards in the morning.
This
is really the soup to nuts portion of the self guided tour. You learn about the
inventions and developments aboard the ship as well as in our country in that
time, from World War II and on.
The
setup is really convenient and I cannot express how friendly and informed all
of the staff members were. No matter where I was or what question or comment I
had, the staff was amazing, even those who were working and freezing outside.
That is not something you see very often and I was very impressed. That goes
along way believe me.
On
the third floor there isn’t too much to see. There is the mess hall showing what
it looked like originally and then after the restoration. On the other side of
this floor is an Au Bon Pain Café. It is a good place to stop to get a drink, a
snack, a small lunch, or catch up with a cousin after exploring such a vast
vessel and rocketship.
For
a good deal:
Check twitter and/or www.broadwaybox.com and
look under New York Attractions in the middle of the page.
When
you get your tickets make sure they include the Space Shuttle Pavilion if that
is something you want to see. Also guided tours are under a different category.
The Growler automatically comes with the Intrepid standard ticket.
For
More Information:
GREAT PHOTOS...
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