A $33 million contract has been awarded for the construction of a new visitors center at the USS Arizona Memorial, which is getting nearly twice as many tourists as its facilities were designed to handle.
The Navy announced that Watts Constructors of Honolulu has been awarded the contract to build a new museum, shop and a second theater at Hawaii's top tourist destination. The total cost of the new site is expected to reach $54 million.
Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year. The memorial is expected to remain open while the new visitors center is being built, with completion expected by the 69th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in December 2010.
Current visitor buildings are built on land dredged from Pearl Harbor and have been gradually sinking, with portions of the center sagging by as much as 30 inches since the center opened in 1980.
Existing visitor areas at the memorial will be torn down after the expanded facilities are completed. The theater will remain, but a second will be built to cut what currently can be a two-hour wait to see historic film of the Pearl Harbor attack.
The Arizona Memorial Museum Association plans to double the size of its museum from the current 2,500 square feet. The new museum will allow visitors to see items currently not on display, including some of the thousands of donated artifacts now kept in a warehouse.
The memorial was designed to accommodate 2,400 visitors a day. It now draws 1.5 million a year.
The memorial itself sits atop the battleship, which was sunk along with several others on Dec 7, 1941, by Japanese planes. More than 900 crew members remain entombed in the ship.
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9 Comments
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rjd_jr
I visited this museum years ago and it is a very moving and fitting tribute to those who lost their lives. Japanese citizens also visit the Pearl Harbor monument. I would like to visit the new one soon.
Mark_McCracken
"The memorial was designed to accommodate 2,400 visitors a day. It now draws 1.5 million a year."
How difficult this is to compare. Journalists seem to abhor math. How about saying "The memorial was designed to accommodate 2,400 visitors a day, yet now draws about 4,100 visitors per day."
Youdontknow
This is one place I would like to go and visit, but I have one concern: does it glorify the American way and condemn the Japanese? I know that what happened that day was not justified, but nor would I want to go to any museum that shows hatred to its foes as still being a current issue. If I wanted to see that kind of thing, I could always try North Korea and visit their museums which are geared towards nothing but hating the USA!
hoserfella
I wonder how many young Japanese go visit this thing and think; "Why would they make a memorial based on a bad Hollywood movie?"
Nippon5
Youdontknow at 02:43 PM JST - 29th September
This is one place I would like to go and visit, but I have one concern: does it glorify the American way and condemn the Japanese? I know that what happened that day was not justified, but nor would I want to go to any museum that shows hatred to its foes as still being a current issue. If I wanted to see that kind of thing, I could always try North Korea and visit their museums which are geared towards nothing but hating the USA!
Maybe you should use your fingers to type in a search instead of rambling on:) It is vistited by Japanese every day and they dont find it offensive..
shayouzoku
I remember when I went to see it, I think my family were the only non-Japanese people on the little boat out to go see the memorial.
BlackFlag
of course Japanese will visit it, why shouldnt they want to visit and pay their respects to the Japanese (and American) lives lost there?
ultradodgy
It was either this or a new Disney World.
Howardtheduck
I wonder how many young Japanese go visit this thing and think; "Why would they make a memorial based on a bad Hollywood movie?
Unfortunately, a lot of young Americans are probably thinking the same thing.