About this property
USS Olympia is a protected cruiser that saw service with the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. She is currently a museum ship in Philadelphia. Olympia became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after returning to the U.S. in 1899, but was returned to active service in 1902. She served until World War I as a training ship for naval cadets and as a barracks ship in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1917, she was mobilized again for war service, patrolling the American coast and escorting transport ships. After World War I, Olympia participated in the 1919 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and conducted cruises in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas to promote peace in the unstable Balkan countries. In 1921, the ship carried the remains of World War I's Unknown Soldier from France to Washington, D.C., where his body was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. Olympia was decommissioned for the last time in December 1922 and placed in reserve. In 1957, the U.S. Navy ceded title to the Cruiser Olympia Association, which restored the ship to her 1898 configuration. Since then, Olympia has been a museum ship in Philadelphia, where it is now part of the Independence Seaport Museum. Olympia was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Olympia is the oldest steel American warship still afloat. Repairs, estimated at $10 to 20 million, were desperately needed to keep Olympia afloat, and in 2010 the Independence Seaport Museum considered finding a new steward for the ship. By 2014, the museum reversed its plan to find a new steward and soon obtained funding from private donors as well as federal and state agencies to begin work on repairing the ship. The museum invested in extensive stabilization measures including reinforcing the most deteriorated areas of the hull, expanding the alarm system, installing a network of bilge pumping stand pipes (which will provide greater damage control capability in the unlikely event of a hull breach), extensive deck patching and extensive repair and recoating of the ship's rigging. This work was made possible by donations from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the U.S. Cruiser Sailors Association and many individual donors. By 2017, the museum completed the first phase of repairs to the ship and has embarked on an ambitious national campaign to raise the $20 million needed to dry-dock Olympia and address waterline deterioration of the hull.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about U.S.S. OLYMPIA
This page lists U.S.S. OLYMPIA. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was U.S.S. OLYMPIA listed on the National Register?
U.S.S. OLYMPIA was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.
What type of historic resource is U.S.S. OLYMPIA?
U.S.S. OLYMPIA is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is U.S.S. OLYMPIA a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. U.S.S. OLYMPIA has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for U.S.S. OLYMPIA?
The period of significance for U.S.S. OLYMPIA is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1895.
Can I research the history near U.S.S. OLYMPIA?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near U.S.S. OLYMPIA will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Philadelphia County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Philadelphia County.
Explore PhiladelphiaCounty ›More historic places in Pennsylvania
Browse all historic places in Pennsylvania.
View Pennsylvaniahistoric sites ›Pennsylvania history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Pennsylvaniahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near U.S.S. OLYMPIA will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.