CultureNOW - USS Constitution Museum: Peter Vanderwarker

USS Constitution Museum
Museums

Dates

Founded, 1972
Converted, 1976

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Description

ABOUT THE USS CONSTITUTION AND MUSEUM
First launched in 1797, the USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship that is still afloat. The Constitution is one of the six ships that George Washington ordered for construction to help America's maritime interests. The museum (located on land and next to where the ship is docked) originally served as a supplement to active naval USS Constitution. Now it houses artifacts from the ships history as well as experiential learning exhibitions, the purpose of which is to inspire both children and adults to appreciate all that the USS Constitution stands for. Additionally, this site is on the Freedom Trail.

ABOUT THE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
"We usually assume our monuments look the way they've always looked. It's seldom true. More often, they've lived through many changes.

A Boston icon, the USS Constitution, is moored at the Boston Naval Shipyard in Charlestown in the old photo, taken in 1905. The ship looks more like a rural barn than a fighting vessel. She was being used as what the Navy called a "receiving ship" -- a floating home for sailors who were either in training or between berths.

The Constitution has undergone as many face lifts as a Hollywood star. Launched in 1797, she fought the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean and the British in the War of 1812, winning famous victories and acquiring her nickname, "Old Ironsides." But in 1830, the Navy planned to junk or sell her.

Then came a rare example of the power of literature to change the world. A 21-year-old Harvard law student published a poem in the Boston Advertiser newspaper. It was called "Old Ironsides," and it began:

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky …

The poem, reprinted all over the nation, sparked a protest that forced the Navy to save the ship. The author, Oliver Wendell Holmes, switched to medicine, became a physician and a famous author, and eventually sired Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the Supreme Court justice.

The Constitution's barnlike barracks came off in 1906. But it wasn't until 1930 that the ship was restored to its original appearance. A further reconstruction occurred in 1973, in anticipation of the Bicentennial of 1976.

In the new photo, the Constitution is moored at the same pier next to what is now a residential neighborhood. Every July 4, the old ship is towed around Boston Harbor while other boats sound their horns in her honor."

-Robert Campbell and Peter Vanderwarker, "CITYSCAPES - Iron Giant: Historical restorations and renovations can reveal some real surprises," Boston Globe, 23 April 2006

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Location

Charleston Navy Yard
1st Avenue & 5th Street
Building #22
Charleston, MA 02129
United States

Nearby Items

Charlestown Navy Yard		65 feet
U.S.S. Constitution		317 feet
Brickyard Housing		999 feet
Sundial		0.4 miles
Langone Park (Joseph and Clementine Langone)		0.6 miles
Copp's Hill Terrace		0.6 miles
Ozias Goodwin House		0.6 miles