ussiowa The USS Iowa, the last surviving World War II-era battleship without a home, finally found one earlier this month in Los Angeles Harbor.

The Secretary of the Navy awarded the historic vessel to a not-for-profit association called the Pacific Battleship, which will tow it down from the Suisun Bay’s “Mothball Fleet” in Northern California to San Pedro, tie it up at Wharf 87 and operate it as a museum and educational facility. Plans call for the operation to be entirely self-financed—not dependent upon the Los Angeles City Council for funding.

Let’s hope the Long Beach City Council pays close attention. It has struggled trying to balance the cultural and educational mission of the Queen Mary with its commercial exploitation from day one. Since the Museum of the Sea was disbanded in 1976 with the approval of the City Council, the Queen Mary has been a purely commercial project. The museum aspects of the ship have been given only lip service.

But the operators of the USS Iowa have submitted a master plan to the Navy—available on their web site—and the goals are ambitious. They include developing a program of tours, an educational mission—including sleepover programs for children and families and a museum—and an information center that is supported by community involvement and a volunteer program. The site plan shows a large visitors information center. (One was recommended for the Queen Mary prior to its purchase in 1967, but it has never been built.)

The USS Iowa’s educational program includes special tours and certified activities that fit into the K-12 curriculum for the LA Unified School District. Considerations for handicapped access are also included in their plans. (Handicapped access to other than the hotel decks are largely non-existent on Long Beach’s Queen Mary.) Significant community outreach and involvement with the wide use of volunteers is assumed. If the operation succeeds it will provide a focal point for the renaissance of the Port of San Pedro.

In contrast, the City of Long Beach has allowed commercial operators to exploit the Queen Mary as an incongruent backdrop for paranormal activities only discovered—or rather, concocted—since the grand liner arrived. The Queen Mary has been used as a site for motorcycle and tattoo events, and over time the ship’s signature event has become a Halloween show, formerly named “The Shipwreck” and now called “Dark Harbor.”

These activities add little to the luster of the historic RMS Queen Mary, but fit in nicely with a poorly maintained facility. Meanwhile, the development of the adjoining 50-some acres has languished.