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You can visit the Heavy Cruiser USS Salem at the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum in Quincy, MA. When I visited the USS Salem in 2008 the admission was a modest $5 for an unguided tour, and slightly more with a guide. I'd strongly recommend getting a guide as you'll get into areas of the ship such as the engine room and CIC that you wouldn't see on a self guided tour. The outer hull of the cruiser was freshly painted and the deckworks and superstructure were a work in progress. Inside the ship it's pretty amazing. Much of the interior is left just as it was when the heavy cruiser was decommissioned. The USS Salem was mothballed with dehumidifiers running and there is very little in the way of major rust to see. The engine room is in great shape and many of the tools you see were left there by the crew when CA-139 was decommissioned. Many other areas have been nicely restored by groups such as boy scout troops who adopt a compartment and bring it back to life. I especially liked the dental offices as the equipment was exactly the same as our family dentist used when I was a kid. The ship's barber shop has also been restored and decorated with various period shaving products and implements. One 5 inch gun mount and one 8 inch turret are open for visitors to climb inside and get a good look at the interior workings. The galley and wardroom are in very good shape and give the visitor a sense of how many of the 1,800 crewmen there might be taking meals at any given time. CA-139 a big ship and must have hummed with activity when it was still in service. Also on site is the WWII German Midget Submarine Seehund, a coastal defense two man submarine that was surprisingly effective towards the end of WWII in the European Theater. The USS Salem museum has a small gift shop onboard ship with mugs and T-shirts. My favorite was a "Kilroy was here" T-shirt, but they happened to be out of them when I visited. Unless it is a busy weekend, you'll need to ask at the ticket booth for someone to open the ship's store. There is no food service on site at the museum. I traveled about a mile to find a market that made sandwiches. There may have been eateries that were closer, but it wasn't apparent other than a Dunkin Donuts a couple of blocks away. There is parking on site for a modest fee. For directions and hours visit the museum's website. Their directions are much simpler than those I used from Google Maps. Take some time to get out there and visit the USS Salem. The volunteers have put a lot of effort into the restored compartments and the staff and volunteers were very friendly and helpful and went out of their way to answer questions and to get you to see as much of the ship as possible. If you're fairly local, offer to volunteer. The folks you'll work with are great and there's plenty to be done for all levels of expertise. |