This tremendous floating Naval Museum is truly a glimpse in the past that changed the world! It's a very powerful and moving tribute to those in the Service of their County and for all of us need to reflect on their sacrifices to make us live Free! This Quincy BUILT Heavy Cruiser is permanently docked by Fore River Bridge! In 1994 came back home to her birthplace to stay! This Shipbuilding Floating Museum should not be missed! read more

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The Salem is a very unique museum ship as it is the only US heavy cruiser from the WW II era still in existence. There is a light cruiser up in Buffalo NY but that is a different class of ship. These heavy cruisers were really attractive ships back then and Salem was brought into service soon after the war ended. Her class of cruisers had the new rapid fire 8" guns that soon went out of style as we entered into the missile age. They were at the time the peak of naval gun technology. I visited the Salem on Sunday, the day after going to Battleship Cove in Fall River. This ship is only open on Fri, Sat and Sun and I was looking forward to visiting her since I have never been on a cruiser before (obviously). It was a little difficult finding her berth as it is located in an industrial section of Quincy. Parking spaces are few in their small main lot and then they have an overflow area that is also small. I was beginning to understand that with the small parking area and being only open on weekends that Salem doesn't get many visitors. Her berthing space is deplorable next to some old beached barges on one side that are junk. Onboard she is in the same shape as the ships at Battleship Cove. That means a lot of visible rust, very poor signage, no tour markers so you are on your own with their supplied map finding your way around. Going forward on the main deck I found grass growing in many of the screw holes on the teak deck. This ship is in poor shape and not suitable for the general public to tour it in my opinion. I am sure there a well meaning group of volunteers here but the maintenance schedule is so far behind they will never catch up with it. The ship needs a large infusion of money from state and local governments and/or private foundations to pay skilled shipyard workers to bring her back to glory. Considering her location and limited visiting hours unless something is done soon this ship will be lost forever and relegated to the scrap heap like all of her predecessors from WW II. That would mean no surviving heavy cruiser from that era and they would be a shame. I wish them luck but I am not optimistic. I hate writing this review. By the way the only reason I am giving Salem a 3 score and not a 2 like I did at Battleship Cove is because below decks they have several well appointed spaces dedicated to some of the other services and their members with nice exhibits in them. That part is reasonably well done. read more

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we visited this ship today. this was the third time. in my previous review, i said my dad served aboard the salem in the korean war. the salem wasnt in korea. my dad served on her from july of 1954 til march of 1955. . he was discharged from the salem. he worked as the ships carpenter. one of the tour guides opened up the room where he used to work. the salem was part of the atlantic sixth fleet. the salem was built after world war two. my dad was also a haul tech. i learned a lot. read more

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Visited yesterday for the first time and certainly an experience everyone should have. Great access to the whole boat and one of the best museums I've ever been to. One you could go back to numerous times. Head over and you won't regret it! read more

USS Salem - Exterior - Museums Near Me - Quincy, Massachusetts

USS Salem is a great trip down Memory Lane, but like so many old gray ladies, she needs a rich friend. I love walking the decks and visiting old naval vessels. The newly mothball ones are clean, up to date and well maintained. The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in Norfolk comes to mind. Almost all of her insides are sealed with humidifiers and employ electric fans for circulation. Sadly, our older naval ships aren't doing as well. The USS Salem is a heavy cruiser in need of some TLC. There are many places were the teak(?) wood has rotten away and the steel plates are starting to rust.. See photos. "The US built the last heavy cruisers, which were finished shortly after the war. The Baltimore class consisted of seventeen ships, including three of the slightly different Oregon City class. The Des Moines class (including the USS Salem) were the last heavy cruisers built: though based on the Baltimores, they were considerably heavier and longer due to their new rapid-firing 203 mm (8-inch) guns" "Heavy cruisers fell out of use after the Second World War... Some existing US heavy cruisers lasted well through the 1970s, with the last all-gun ship USS Newport News decommissioning in 1975." "The last heavy cruiser in existence is the USS Salem, now a carefully preserved museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts." For further information on heavy cruisers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_cruiser For further information on the USS Salem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Salem_(CA-139) Don't forget stop at the first Dunkin Donuts on your way north on 3A. Enjoy! read more

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I found quite an education about what it was like to serve on one of these ships while on board the USS Salem. It is very intact with many fittings still in place and perhaps one of the most preserved examples of this period of ships. It is also one of our favorite haunts. There is much to see on the ship both in quantity and diversity, but significant climbing up and down ladders will be necessary which renders the ship inaccessible to the handicapped. This is not a barrier for small children however; we go all the time and my very small wee ones who aren't even school aged have a blast running around the ship and protest mightily every time we have to go home for lunch and a nap. Families with slightly older children can opt to overnight on the vessel such as with the cub scouts. I have been enough times to this ship that I have caught a few of the sessions of the kids literally dragging stretchers of someone "wounded" through the decks, learning CPR, shooting a "potato cannon" and running around having a blast. Boy I wish I was 7 again and doing one of these cub scout overnights on board! Well.... my wife would tell you my eyes light up just as much as my children's when we bring up the USS Salem. What distinguishes the USS Salem ship museumis how intact, and downright accessible the entire ship and its hardware is. Many museum ships have been cannibalized for parts and therefore so many things are missing; not the Salem. Areas open to the general public are filled with models, photographs, uniforms and a vast collection of period equipment that includes a large share of original furniture. Very interesting is that there are many small pieces still authentic to the ship that are still present to highlight the daily life of the sailors down to soap boxes. Volunteers have told me (and I have seen) magazines, soap boxes, old tobacco products and other items of the period that were left behind by the crew. Legend has it one of the admiral's tax returns is still on board! While you can't normally access some compartments such as the engineering, power, damage control and armament/magazine spaces, there is a new program at the museum for the more interested on the subject matter. As a grognard Historic Naval Ship enthusiast, I am happy to report that unlike many other museum ships, on the USS Salem it is possible to get those hatches opened and the lights flipped on to many parts of the ship. In fact, many of these spaces are accessible by stair and not ladder, enhancing their safety and accessibility. This new hard hat tour charges an extra fee that buys you one of many specialized, highly knowledgeable guides to take you to see goodies like the steering gear, the turrets all the way down to the magazines and much more. Another interesting feature where the hard hat tour has taken me is the ship's hangar and elevator. When completing one of my tours a volunteer had just finished restoring the elevator and took us for a ride, lifting us up like a period seaplane or helicopter! Also very interesting are the pieces of evidence that the Salem was used as a secret antisubarine vessel testbed (yes it was!) and the nuclear 8 inch shell magazines. Just ask about "Z-1 shop". There is also significant research material on board for the more interested naval buff. Ship plans, manuals, technical documents and many formerly classified Navy booklets are available in the archive. While the general public is not usually invited to peruse these collections, showing interest, enthusiasm and in my case a nominal donation to the museum has opened up a very nice new set of "toys" for me. The museum experience is enhanced by a dedicated, friendly crew of volunteers that work hard to keep her in tiptop shape. Asking questions gets me greeted with enthusiastic, educational commentary. What makes her volunteer crew so intimately familiar with the ship's workings because a good portion of them served on the USS Salem itself or her sister ship the USS Newport News CA-148. Paying attention to the right circles such as the Newport News association or the Navy Cruiser Sailors Association has found me discovering and attending the meetings of these wonderful groups further enriching my experience. In summary, I have been smitten by this museum. I am impressed by how intact the ship itself is, offering much authenticity, and above all sporting a volunteer crowd that is attentive and knowledgeable. The ship's archive and the hard hat tours have been a big draw for me. It's a wonderful place for children and my whole family loves it, I look forward to going a lot! read more

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Well... my father, who is also a Navy veteran like myself, says... a ship pierside with no sailors is a terrible thing. She is a rusty heap. The various volunteer groups really do try, but you need a ship's company to really keep her up all the time. One side, starboard, is pretty good; port side she is neglected and rusty. Flag bridge is just sad and embarrassing. The interior is ok...being a squid myself I chatted up a tour guide who was also a retired squid and he really gave me a tour... I appreciated that very much. Thanks Chief! Ships have a certain smell... air conditioning and vents, coupled with lagging and oil... it's heaven. It's home. Brings you right back to your service days. Sad to see her in such a state of disrepair. The money making owners did not manage her well, and she is the worst static display ships museum I've been on. Even if the MBTA fixed the pier and the girl was moved back... she is beyond the point of no return. Sort of enjoyable to walk her decks, but sad... not nostalgic or whistful, but sad that she looks like she should be in NavShipYard Philly for the mothball fleet. RM2(SW) USN read more

My dad's ship isn't haunted it's angry at it being used for entertainment instead of Boy Scouts and others that used to visit the ship every year read more

Had a Groupon for this boat, so I went with my husband and son on a super hot day this summer. Even though our Groupon was for a guided tour, the women at the ticket office recommended that with a 2 year old, we would probably do better on the "self guided tour", which meant we could just walk around the boat on our own. It pretty much meant we could literally explore most areas of this HUGE warship completely on our own. Lots of up and down narrow stairs and through narrow hallways in the belly of this huge ship, but it was a very interesting tour and my son actually really enjoyed it. It is pretty well preserved, a little run down, but still nice. I think it would have been nice to have the guided tour because there was not THAT much information around to read if you're doing the tour yourself; maybe next year though. Definitely a good way to spend an afternoon in Quincy though. read more

Skip the mini golf, make way for the ship! Lot's of climbing, watch your head, and don't run. It's fascinating to see how men and women served their country in these warships. I feel lucky to have a museum ship right here in Quincy. Now I suggest after you tour the ship, take the MBTA boat to Georges Island. That way you get a full days worth of adventure. read more

i love old warships. this one is great. a little run down compared to any other ones i have been on, but most likely because they only charged 5.00 to tour the boat. while i was glad that it was cheap, the entire time i thought to myself 'they could really take better care of this thing if they charged a little more'. even $8-$10 would've been reasonable. i liked it a lot. read more

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I love the walking around and looking at everything but the cafeteria was horrible how they treated the kids and how they have kids attitude this one blond lady Was so rude their was a special need kid that was ringing the bell and she snatched it from under his hand and threw it on the counter and looked at him and said "what a child and rolled her eyes. Plus their were only 2 people working at the cafeteria serving over 100+ kids they were unorganized they just gave kids random things food was expensive for something that was so terrible!! read more

I bought a groupon along with a friend to take our kids on. Facebook says one time the website says another and their voice mail says they are open from some time in July daily . We went last week and they were locked up. We decided to go by what was left on the voice mail . Very discouraging. Wouldn't waste my money for them. Pretty sad something educational and can't be used read more

went on a ghost tour there, from groupon. The guys that do the tour are very enthusiastic and enjoy what they are doing. It was an interesting night. read more

Drove two hours to enjoy exploring this ship and museum. When we arrived there was hardly any signage showing where the ship/museum was and had to make constant U-turns to try and find an entrance. Once we finally found where we needed to go, we discovered that the ship was closed due to the crew preparing for their October Halloween event. It was only after that I discovered on their website, buried in small print and not even on their main page, that the ship was closed for this. You would think if their facility was going to be closed for several weeks, there would be an announcement in bold print on the front page of their website. To make matters worse, the ship looks like it is in very bad condition. I understand places like these rely on a tiny pool of volunteers to maintain the ships, and they only have small amounts of funding, but the condition is just sad. I have visited several other museums of this type, and no where else have I seen the ships or planes in this bad of shape. For a museum about ship building, it is sad to see the ship in this condition. All those volunteers that were there setting up for the Halloween event should be redirected to maintaining the ship, instead of setting up for a silly event. read more

WOW! I'm a little embarrassed that I've lived in Quincy my whole life and had never been to the Salem until recently. This ship is huge, and incredibly easy to get to. Plenty of parking and you literally pull right up to it. The volunteers have put so much time and effort into restoring her, and the work is ongoing, so certain parts of the ship may not be accessible. It doesn't matter though, because you could easily spend hours here and not see everything. The best part is that many of the volunteers actually served on the ship in the 1950s, and they are more than happy to guide you around and tell you some amazing stories. Many of the sailors left their personal effects in the lockers too, so it's incredible to see old journals, photos, uniforms, etc. They give you free reign over the ship, even all the way down into the engine rooms. You don't need to be a history buff to appreciate this floating piece of history, and it's the last ship of its kind! I would definitely go again. And, thanks to the efforts of the volunteers and some local politicians, the Salem will get to stay in Quincy for at least another 5 years! read more