[MarkDaMan]

Hey kids, want to go play on the big aircraft carrier?
Portland Business Journal - March 9, 2007

A Washington group wants to permanently anchor a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Portland.

The group, the USS Ranger Museum Foundation, wants to use the enormous vessel as a tourist attraction and disaster command center.

The group is not seeking any public funds, but needs a green light from the Port of Portland before beginning what could be a two-year process for moving the ship here from Bremerton, Wash. It also needs to raise around $30 million for a fresh coat of paint and other improvements to make the ship tourist-ready.

"We feel very comfortable where we are," said Ray Kutch, the group's CEO and a Vietnam veteran and former Naval Academy instructor. "[If we get a location], we'll get the money."

The group will present a marketing and feasibility study to potential investors and government officials in the next two months. Oregon legislators have already heard a joint resolution that encourages the city and port to work with Kutch's group.

Kutch thinks the ship could attract as many as 600,000 visitors annually, giving a huge boost to the local economy.

Those numbers might not be as dreamy as they sound. The USS Midway, an aircraft carrier-turned tourist magnet in San Diego, has drawn more than 800,000 visitors a year since opening in June 2004.

It took San Diego more than a decade to get approval for the Midway, so Kutch isn't too concerned that his group has yet to find a home for the Ranger, despite working on the issue since 2001. He's already come up short in Seattle and Tacoma because of a lack of port space.

The Port of Portland has discussed the issue with Kutch's group, but has concerns about parking such a massive ship in the middle of a working port. It would take up more than half of Terminal 2, which is on the west side of the Willamette River just north of the Fremont Bridge.

At more than 1,000 feet, the ship is nearly as long as the Hawthorne Bridge.

If the group is unsuccessful, the USS Ranger could be used for target practice and deep-sixed in the Pacific.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/03/12/newscolumn2.html?t=printable

[pdxman]

Sounds like a very cool idea...it would be amazing if they could bring it downtown to the waterfront but it sounds a little big for that. I hope the port lets them do this.

[tworivers]

Ugh. I think I'd take a Trump tower over this thing, and that is saying a lot.

Maybe Seattle would want the ship, too?

[MarkDaMan]

anchored at Swan Island this would be pretty cool, or even if a slip was dredged out of an abandoned terminal. I wouldn't support this tied up on the seawall, nor do I think they are persuing that option, but it would give us a distinctive tourist attraction if they can make it work.


Maybe Seattle would want the ship, too?

He's already come up short in Seattle and Tacoma because of a lack of port space.

[tworivers]

^^^ Um, thanks Mark. I guess my eyes were too bugged out to absorb the details.

Am I really alone in thinking that a gigantic aircraft carrier anchored in the harbor is NOT the kind of "tourist attraction" that Portland needs, or, for that matter, would welcome with open arms? San Diego, absolutely...

Distinctive towers with cafes, observation decks, and green roofs on top, a streetcar up to Council Crest with a mini-space needle viewing tower (dreaming), river ferries, an activated waterfront, more beautiful parks, a new baseball stadium, public market, Maritime Museum... all these things and more I can envision being valuable tourist attractions that reflect the civic culture of our city... but a huge relic of the American War Machine? Parked in the harbor? Permanently?

Maybe I just live in some sort of hallucinatory bubble. Apparently downtown is dead, too, so what do I know...

[der Reisender]

i think it'd be kinda cool to have an aircraft carrier just sitting around to be look at...that said, it doesn't really seem Portland-y and its likely you'd be able to see it from nearly anywhere on the river. i say give it to Astoria

[65MAX]

Turn it into a floating hotel/resort.

[zilfondel]

World's largest farmer's market. With attack jets to boot!

[texastarkus]

Maybe Seattle would want the ship, too?

Hey Seattle - I hear a group of Oklahoma City business men are looking at buying the ship out from under you to place it near their basket ball arena.

[PDX City-State]

We'll make a park out of it.

[Chicago3rd]

Won't happen. Too many people for peace in Portland.

[65MAX]

Why not, C3? Can you think of a better way to show Portland's anti-war mindset than planting the entire flight deck of an aircraft carrier with flowers? Talk about a tourist draw....

[sirsimon]

Might be interesting... :)

[zilfondel]

lol, you got a point! Only problem is it'll ruin those views of Mt. Hood (salmon deserve their views too, right???)

[NW Mike]

The USS Missouri is wonderful in Pearl Harbor. This could be a real plus for Portland.

[65MAX]

Plus, the control tower over the flight deck would have 360 deg. views.... a great new observation deck.

I say bring it. The preservation group would be paying for everything, there's no cost to Portland except providing access to it. I think Swan Island has the capacity to easily handle the tourists. Plus, like it or not, Portland has a history of building warships. Fortunately it's in our past.

[65MAX]

Maybe I just live in some sort of hallucinatory bubble.

You say that like it's a BAD thing. :cool:

[sirsimon]

I think it would be one more unique thing about Portland to draw visitors. That seems like a positive to me. Portland is not very "touristy", which (while not necessarily a "bad" thing), probably does keep some events/people from visiting.

Good point about the control tower - if they could set up a nice observation deck there that would be a nice asset. :)

[Symi81]

I agree with tworivers. This doesnt seem like a very Portland-like attraction. I doubt the kinds of people who tend to visit PDX would be very interested in touring a decomisioned aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers epitomize the Amerikan war machene. Very un-Portland, my 2 centz. Won't there will be "hella" protests if this happens?

peace.

[65MAX]

What says "Portland" more than an aircraft carrier covered with flowers? You gotta admit, people would come here just to see that.

Make it seasonal so there's always something blooming. Bulbs in the spring, roses in the summer and fall, and evergreens for a holiday winter wonderland display.

[der Reisender]

we could refurbish the carrier and use it as the first piece of the Cascadian Navy...we'd just need planes for it then

[GreenCity]

Forgive me duplicating what others here has already said, but the Portland Left would hate it. There would be protests along the lines of Schumakers starting almost immediately, if I know the community. What connection does it have to our city's identity anyways? We've never been a strong center for the military-industrial complex, and our marine history has always focused much more on mercantile fleets. Throw in the fact that no matter what they say, the revenues from tourism wouldn't even be close to what it would take to upkeep an aircraft carrier, even a decommissioned one. It will take up valuable portage space and if it was placed somewhere it didn't, it would be to far away to be accessible anyway. Plus anyone that has a driving desire to see war ships has both the Rose Festival fleet and if they need an off season fix, the Blueback at OMSI. Seems silly and pointless to me, and I'm sure it would downright offend your casebook liberal Portlander. Send it to a coastal port that actually wants it.

[Symi81]

we could refurbish the carrier and use it as the first piece of the Cascadian Navy...we'd just need planes for it then

Now there is a great idea! However, I believe Cascadia to be a pacifist nation, so maybe we could just plant flowers all over the ship's deck, then sail it around the world promoting world peace.... hahaha :jester:

[tworivers]

we could refurbish the carrier and use it as the first piece of the Cascadian Navy...we'd just need planes for it then

Now we're talking! I can almost visualize our hodgepodge air force of re-tooled Cessnas with DIY missile launchers.

How about we just take the bow and stick it in the ground somewhere near the observation deck on what's left of the demo'd Marquam Bridge?
A Memorial To Bad Ideas Of The Twentieth Century. Talk about an international tourist attraction.

[Dougall5505]

I say sink it in the mouth of the columbia river where it is deep enough. and make it a attraction for divers. although it might not be deep enough

[oilcan]

I don't see it as a fit for Portland myself, much like the London bridge in Arizona.. something just does not seem right about it locaton wise..

As far as the whole "anti-war" movement and "left wingers" opposing I could see the hesitation in displaying "military might" in the same light as prancing down Kremlin ave with a whole armored tank division and missles to boot.. however, the flip side to that is the historic value, especially with a WWII vessel where it was not a war for "shits and grins" as of today, but an actual force (fading forgotten generation) built for legitmit protection and liberation. Not condoning war what so ever however, one would hope this b.s. war and Vietnam would not disrupt ones understanding/knowledge about history in itself.. similar to me as a boy in Brem Naval Yards.. I will always remember standing on the USS. Missouri in the exact spot the surrendor of Japan was submitted.. One note it would be interesting to see if there is any involvement in this by General McPeek who is a retired "Joint Chairman" AF General now residing in Portland..

Few years ago there was some interference when Russia tried to sell a bunch of retired Chinese Military Generals now "Business" men a carrier to transform *cough *cough into a large port side casino.. Maybe Portland can work that stance.. flip it sell it off and take the wages to put into it's after school programs without relying on Blazer player assistance.. ;)

[65MAX]

The city wouldn't be maintaining it or operating it, the foundation that wants to bring it here would handle all of that. So there wouldn't be any reason for anti-tax zealots to protest this. Also, Portland DOES have a history of building warships. Remember WWII?

Nobody is more left-wing or anti-war than me. That's why I love the idea of using an aircraft carrier to promote peace. I think I'm not alone in that regard.

Another way to think about this, we're recycling about a million tons of steel in one fell swoop. :cheers:

[oilcan]

Nobody is more left-wing or anti-war than me. That's why I love the idea of using an aircraft carrier to promote peace. I think I'm not alone in that regard.

I know about 20 guys I served with in Afghanistan and Iraq to include myself that may be a little bit more anti-war than you.. lol

But you are correct... important to look at the big picture, learning from the past... and creating a new image for the future.... maybe I can see it...

Just get by river environmentalist and you may have your palace of peace...

[GreenCity]

That's why I love the idea of using an aircraft carrier to promote peace. I think I'm not alone in that regard.

I don't know what they'll think of decking out their shiny and newly-painted ship with a flower patch, but I'd love to see it.

I guess my wonder is why they are bringing it here. Is there any discernable connection between the Ranger and Portland? It seems that they're searching for a port, but why this one? anyone know?

[65MAX]

Seattle and Tacoma don't have enough space. Don't know about SF or LA. SD already has one.

[Inkdaub]

I'd have to see it to make any decision about whether or not I liked it. I can say that my brother served on the Ranger, though.

Why don't they just turn it sideways and stab it into the ground like a spear and it can be the Portland supertall that so many people want to see downtown?