Our Story
Our Vision: To inspire global awareness of freedom of the seas.
Our Mission: To ignite curiosity, connect communities, and enhance understanding of America’s role in maritime peace and prosperity.
Our Organization: Pacific Battleship Center is a an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 2008 to ignite curiosity, connect communities, and enhance understanding of America’s role in maritime peace and prosperity. Pacific Battleship Center’s family of brands include Battleship IOWA, National Museum of the Surface Navy, Freedom of the Seas, LA Fleet Week, Camp Battleship, Veteran’s West, and Vicky’s Doghouse Cafe. Significant milestones include:
- Ranked by TripAdvisor as the #4 attraction and museum in Los Angeles.
- As of 2024, USS Iowa (opened in 2012) remains the last Navy ship to be donated as a museum.
- Refurbished, maintained, and operated by a crew of staff and volunteers.
- Lead the reinvigoration of an entire community.
- Established itself as one of the most impactful veterans service organizations in Los Angeles.
- Hosts in-situ STEM programs for thousands of Los Angeles students regardless of financial capacity.
- Anchor for resilliency programming involving military resources.
- Responsible for the only US Navy licensed and congressionally designated Navy museum (National Museum of the Surface Navy).
- Co-founder and co-creator of LA Fleet Week, Los Angeles’s largest Memorial Day event.
The first 10-years were transformational and dynamic. The next 10-years will be blockbuster. As one crewmember explained it, it feels like a docuseries with a new season happening annually. We invite you to read more of our story and if you are inspired, to get involved.
As one crewmember explained it, being involved with the Pacific Battleship Center is like living a docuseries with a new episode happening daily. Our story is one of committment and perseverence to achieve the seemingly impossible.
- Founded in 2008, the efforts to save the ship were led by volunteers with numerous in-kind gifts and donations to cover other costs.
- Our first employee wasn’t hired until after the ship was saved in 2012 and today we are approaching 100 employees (full-time and part-time).
- Every year volunteers donate more than 50,000 hours to the organization both in-person and virtually.
- We are proud to have a diverse crew from the deck plate to our boards that represents our diverse community.
We invite you to learn more about us and if you are inspired, to get involved with our dynamic organization.
Our Financials
Great people and strong financials are essential for us to serve our community and nation with the greatest possible impact. As a 501c3 non-profit, we have an obligtation to our community, crew, donors, and supporters to be fiscally responsible and transparent. We invite you to review our annual report, financials, donor list, and tax returns to learn more about the Pacific Battleship Center.
Our Community
Communities in the dictionary are defined as “a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” As an anchor we have established ourselves as a connector of communities for a better quality of life and future. These communities stretch throughout the Nation and across the world and include a diverse background of people.
- Our programs connect communities to inspire curiosity through education, support veterans, and strengthen resilience.
- Scuttlebutt Podcast connects with various members of the community to highlight topics of interest with our listeners.
- Plank Owner charter member program is our grassroots peer to peer advocacy group that is free to join and helps spread the word of our organization.
- Follow our social media for the most up to date information, fun tidbits, and post on Naval and maritime history.
Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube. - Read some of the news and updates we send to our supporters and crew.
- The USS Iowa is an excellent platform and backdrop for media stories on military, Navy, freedom of the seas, and maritime stories. We also have topic experts available to support your media story.
Have questions on our organization, our programs, becoming a part of our community, media stories, or something else? You can contact us here.