The USS Lexington is the world’s oldest aircraft carrier. Luckily for visitors to Corpus Christi, Texas, the ship is now a museum. Indeed, it’s one of the city’s popular tourist attractions and educational facilities.
As well, the USS Lexington (CV-16) was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
There are so many stories on the Lexington, but my favorite was how she earned her nickname: the Blue Ghost.
The USS Lexington is an Essex class carrier. While other ships in this class all had a camouflage paint scheme, the Lexington was painted gray.
However, the paint scheme, known as Measure 21, appeared blue from a distance, thus blending into the ocean waters.
During World War II, Iva Toguri, aka Tokyo Rose, hosted a Japanese radio show called Zero Hour. It was a propaganda program meant to demoralize U.S. soldiers, even though she was actually an American stranded in Japan after Pearl Harbor.
At any rate, Tokyo Rose reported the Lexington as sunk on several occasions. The ship had indeed experienced a kamikaze hit and a torpedo strike, but survived both. So, when reports continued to come in about the Lexington, Tokyo Rose gave her the name, The Blue Ghost.
Fast Fact: The USS Lexington survived the torpedo strike due to a hand-operated steering unit. It had been installed during construction, but never tested. After being torpedoed, Captain Felix Stump gave permission for its use in the steering engine room. The ship was brought under control within 30 minutes of being hit.
What’s in the USS Lexington Museum?
The USS Lexington is a welded, steel hull, Essex-class aircraft carrier. During WWII about 3000 members served on board. Later crews were about 1,550 men and women. Indeed, in 1980, the Lexington became the first fleet carrier in United States naval history to have women crew members.
How did the USS Lexington end up in Corpus Christi?
The USS Lexington (CV-16) is the second ship to carry the name, Lexington. The first, USS Lexington (CV-2), was a Lexington-class aircraft carrier commissioned in 1927 and sunk in 1942.
The USS Lexington CV-16 remained in service from February 1943 until April 1947. After that, she served in various capacities including the National Reserve Fleet. In August 1990, she was replaced by the USS Forrestal. When the ship was retired, Corpus Christi Area Economic Development Commission pitched a plan to bring the Blue Ghost to the city. They were successful and the Lexington arrived at Naval Station Ingleside in January, 1992.
In October of that year, the USS Lexington opened as a naval aviation museum. Over the years, it has remained totally self-sufficient relying on revenues generated from various activities and admissions.
Read the full story and history of the Lexington’s first 20 years in Corpus Christi in this PDF.
The flight deck used by planes was 910 ft long with two steam-powered C-11 catapults used to launch planes. The catapult launching area is 211 ft. That’s not a lot of room to get a plane in the air!
Visitors can spend a lot of time on the flight deck tour — we sure did! Various vintage aircraft, from a Vietnam War era T-28 to a Hornet used in Operation Desert Storm, are on deck.
All in all, there are five different routes on the self-guided tour (there are also guided tours available).
- Flight Deck with aircraft and anti-aircraft guns, navigation bridge and the plank
- Foc’sle tour with the Pearl Harbor exhibit and
- Gallery Deck with CVE/CVL exhibit, captain’s cabin, and ready rooms
- Lower Decks with crew’s gallery, engine room, POW exhibit, sick bay and more
- Hangar Deck with admissions area, 3D Mega Theater that recreates Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, mess deck, and other informational exhibits
Fast Fact: Sailors on board the Lexington slept in bunks known as Coffin Lockers. Coffin Lockers consist of three bunks or racks. The bunks have the mattress on top with the bottom of the bunk opening upward (like a trunk) which is used as a personal property storage area for the sailor. (Source: USS Lexington)
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
There are various ways to get to Corpus Christi, but we arrived by I-37 from San Antonio. Traffic was — well — crazy!
So, we stopped for the night outside Mathis, Texas, 30 miles away. The La Quinta was beautiful and Smolik’s Smokehouse served up some supurb BBQ brisket and chicken.
Fast Fact: Smolik's Smokehouse is recognized as one of Texas's Top 50 BBQ restaurants. It was founded in 1918 by the Smolik family in Cuero, Texas, then relocated to Mathis in 1989.
We had limited time in Corpus Christi, as it was the day before the conference I was attending in Galveston. So, we were unable to take in the city’s other museums and activities.
On the ship, we took advantage of the Mess area and had hot dogs for lunch. Leaving, we stopped in for cold drinks at the Blue Marlin Saloon opposite the parking lot.
Our Stay in Port Aransas
Even though we had limited time, we spent the night on the water in Port Aransas on Mustang Island! Port Aransas is the only town on this relatively new island. Indeed, the shifting sands of the Gulf of Mexico created the island a mere 3,000 or so years ago.
We stayed at the Captain’s Quarters Inn. It was good value for the dollar, plus was right across the road from dolphin watching and fishing tours.
There were a variety of dining spots nearby, but we chose the Dairy Queen only a few buildings away. And while we’re not really fans of the chain, we were impressed. The burgers were delicious and the staff extremely helpful.
I’d planned to take the Ferry from Port Aransas, but opted to go back around the highway due to weather. We didn’t have time to risk delays due to a storm.
Who Should Visit the USS Lexington Museum?
I’d slot the USS Lexington into a list of museums everyone should see. As a tourist attraction, she has something for everyone from a flight simulator to escape rooms to the 3D theater. As an historical attraction, she’s the real deal, serving for forty-seven years starting with WWII and ending as a training carrier.
There’s a lot of walking involved if you want to cover the ship from top to bottom. And, of course, a lot of the ups and downs are on narrow metal staircases. However, there’s ramp access to the ship, elevator access to the different decks, and wheelchair accessible restrooms.
Families will find there’s lots to keep kids busy for hours on the ship. There’s plenty of room for moving around and a variety of different artifacts to look at.
We spent half a day on our visit. However, we could have readily spent much longer to read all of the information and take in all the ship’s programming has to offer.
How Do You Visit the USS Lexington Ship Museum?
The USS Lexington is on North Beach right off of I-37. I-37 is a 143-mile interstate highway running from San Antonio to Corpus Christi.
Parking: We parked near the ship in public parking that cost just $5 (take cash) for the day.
Physical Address: 2914 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
The USS Lexington museum is open year-round, seven days a week. You can check times and admission costs at the museum website.
Keep up to date with all the activities and events on board at the USS Lexington Museum Facebook page.
Take a virtual tour of the USS Lexington and see every part of the ship with this YouTube video from Trip Channel.
Plan your visit with Google maps.
Find More Museums in Texas
Check out more museum reviews for museum attractions in Texas on guide2museums.com
Read More Military Museum Reviews
- Plains of Abraham Museum & Battlefield Park: Quebec City
- Canada’s Little-Known Cold War Museum: the Diefenbunker
- U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii Artillery Battery in Honolulu
- USS Lexington Museum: WWII Aircraft Carrier in Corpus Christi, Texas
- Regional Military Museum: Artifacts from all US Wars in Houma, Lousiana
- Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum: Ashland, Nebraska
- Vancouver Island Military Museum: Nanaimo, British Columbia
- National Museum of the Pacific War: Fredericksburg, Texas
- Hill Aerospace Museum: Military Aircraft at Hill AFB, Utah
- Battleship Memorial Park: 1942 Battleship & 1941 Submarine in Mobile, Alabama
- Fagen Fighters WWII Museum: Granite Falls, Minnesota
- Manhattan Project National Historical Park: WWII History in Hanford, Washington
- National World War II Museum: New Orleans, Louisiana
Reference(s)
USS Lexington. (n.d.) The ship: Her history. https://usslexington.com/about-the-uss-lexington/the-ship/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). USS Lexington (CV-16). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-16)
guide2museums.com 