As tourism starts up again, so do the attractions, by Erin DeGregorio

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum reopened to the public on March 25 after more than a year of closure. Ashley Allen, the museum’s public relations director, said the museum felt encouraged by the enthusiastic response to its reopening particularly on March 27, when the weather was beautiful for its first Saturday in operation.

“As spring weather rolls in and vaccinations continue to increase, we are optimistic that there is an appetite among New Yorkers to venture back out into cultural spaces, especially those with large outdoor spaces like ours,” Allen said.

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A vast amount of history remains both inside and outside the World War II-era ship as health and safety regulations are in place.

“Intrepid is also an educational facility with lots of programming for fellow New Yorkers, visitors from elsewhere, and New York City school children,” Dave Winters, the museum’s executive vice president, told the Red Hook Star-Revue in reference to the museum’s reopening, as well as the steps the City is taking to reopen its staple industries.

“[The children] need that education and extra learning, and we want to be part of that because it’s important.”

New and Restored Experiences

As part of an ongoing commitment to open and interpret spaces inside the ship, Intrepid’s pilot escalator has been restored and made available to the public for the first time in decades. The Navy installed escalators on aircraft carriers to help pilots quickly move from their ready rooms deep in the ship to the outdoor flight deck. Intrepid’s escalator, which was installed in the 1950s, is no longer operational. But, visitors can walk up the escalator from the hangar deck to the flight deck and learn about its mechanics and role during service.

Visitors can also take a look into one of Intrepid’s bomb elevators. From 1943 to 1974, the ship’s airplanes carried a changing array of bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles, which could weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. These heavy-duty elevators transported weapons from their armored protected spaces to other parts of the ship where they were assembled, armed and loaded onto airplanes.

Beginning in mid-May, visitors will be able to experience a recreated photo lab. The ship’s photographers developed and printed black-and-white (and later color film) in the photo lab, which serve as a reminder of the days of analog photography. Visitors can learn about the crew whose job included documenting everything from enemy aircraft and operational accidents to daily life on board to ports of call. These experiences are enhanced by firsthand accounts from crew members who served on Intrepid.

“They’re important because they show and add another story of what it was like on Intrepid,” Winters added.

A Sneak Peek for Visitors

For foodies, there’s two interesting exhibits that dive into the history of food aboard Intrepid.

On the third deck of Intrepid – also known as the mess deck – visitors can see where enlisted sailors ate their meals every day through glass walls. For example, one grouping of tables has red-and-white checkered tablecloths and a planter of plastic ferns, representing how the mess looked in the early 1960s – “making it look a little like an Italian restaurant.”

There’s also a special exhibit on the hangar deck called “Navy Decks: A Slice of History.” Though it was supposed to close in October 2020, the pandemic has extended its viewing time through 2021. The exhibit showcases what kinds of cakes were baked onboard Intrepid and Growler and the hard work of the sailors who created them. Visitors can gaze upon original recipes cards, photos, and artifacts, as well as listen to oral histories that tell the fascinating stories of the elaborate confections.

For those interested in submarines, there is the “A View from the Deep: The Submarine Growler & The Cold War” exhibition. Though the former USS Growler submarine is no longer open to the public due to the pandemic, the adjacent exhibit explores the history of Growler in the context of the Cold War. And, on certain days, visitors can also speak with Mike Burns, former submariner on the USS Darter.

Burns returned to Manhattan on March 27 for the first time in more than a year. He travels from Philadelphia once a month to talk about Growler, which is similar to the submarine he worked on from 1983 to 1987. Growler, which was in service from 1958 to 1964, was one of the Navy’s early guided missile submarines.

“I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve,” Burns told The Red Hook Star-Revue about what it was like to come back. “I was so excited. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Burns has been volunteering with the museum for the last five years because he enjoys sharing stories and information with tourist, locals, and submarine enthusiasts. Before the pandemic struck, visitors would climb inside Growler and Burns would talk with them inside the submarine’s control room. Now, he’s able to stand outside Growler on Pier 86 as people pass by or exit from the “A View from the Deep” exhibition on Pier 86.

“I’d only come up once a month because it started out as an excuse to visit my son, who lived across the river in New Jersey and worked in the city,” Burns explained. “But, when he moved to the West Coast a couple of years ago, I just had to keep coming back [to the museum] because I really liked talking about it.”

“It’s nice to talk about things people really want to hear and learn about,” he added, noting that one of his favorite moments was meeting and speaking with a former submarine captain from India. “I’m really glad to be back and love working here. Everybody’s very friendly and helpful, and the variety of people you get to meet is amazing.”

How to Visit

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, located on Pier 86 (West 46th Street and 12th Avenue) in Manhattan, is operating on a limited schedule until further notice (Thursdays to Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm). For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit IntrepidMuseum.org.

“Be it a museum like Intrepid, Broadway theaters, or restaurants and businesses, we all have a part to play in bringing New York back,” Winters said. “New York can come back and New York will come back.”

He continued, “That will be accelerated by us getting all these things that people love about New York up and going again.”