How do you move a World War II battleship?
Not easily. Or cheaply.
Still, a move for the Battleship USS Iowa has been actively talked about and planned for several years and now is getting a renewed push as San Pedro examines how its waterfront attractions can be better connected for visitors and locals alike.
Arguably San Pedro’s most popular and unique tourist attraction, the move — which would cost “north of $20 million” according to a Port of Los Angeles official — would take the historic vessel from its berth near the Vincent Thomas Bridge about a mile south on the waterfront to tie up in the Southern Pacific Slip where the port’s commercial fishing boats are based.
That also would put it adjacent to the more southern portions of the new West Harbor waterfront development now underway.
The issue will be brought up, said the battleship group’s CEO, when the Port of Los Angeles hosts a community meeting to discuss the recently-released waterfront’s draft connectivity plan from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the port headquarters, 425 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro.
The proposed “Waterfront Connectivity Plan,” released to the public in late June, emerged from the San Pedro neighborhood councils when asked to weigh in on what will be most needed as the waterfront community experiences wide-ranging changes, including new developments that will bring more residents to the town.
For Jonathan Williams — co-founder, president, and chief executive officer of the National Museum of the Surface Navy, Battleship IOWA Museum and president of LA Fleet Week Foundation — moving the Iowa is a crucial piece of that overall effort.
“We’ve been a tourist destination on the waterfront” since the ship arrived in 2012, Williams said.
Indeed, the so-called Battleship of Presidents draws tens of thousands of visitors every year and has made Los Angeles top regional tourism lists for several years.
But increasingly, Williams added, the…
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