Although Dallas is home to a portion of the Trinity River and several manmade lakes, it'd be a stretch to apply the word "maritime" to its bodies of water. But that's not stopping city officials from going ahead with plans for the Dallas Maritime Museum, a facility they hope will draw tourists, pay tribute to the U.S. Navy and provide an economic boost to the area.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and other Dallas City Council members were on hand Friday to help unveil plans for the proposed 30,000 square-foot museum, which would be located at 1501 S. Riverfront Blvd., just off the Trinity River in the Cedars neighborhood with a view of downtown Dallas to the north.
The museum's centerpiece will be the U.S.S. Dallas nuclear submarine, the first naval vessel to be named for the city.
The museum's centerpiece will be the U.S.S. Dallas nuclear submarine, the first naval vessel to be named for the city. The submarine has been in active service since 1979, but plans are already underway to decommission it at some point in the next several years.
Once that happens, its permanent home will be in Dallas, making it the first and only modern-attack nuclear submarine to be viewed out of the water by the general public.
If the U.S.S. Dallas sounds familiar, that's because it's had a role in several pop culture pieces, most notably as the American submarine used to search for Russians in Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. The sub, which is 362 feet long and 33 feet wide, would occupy one of three maritime vessel berths at the museum
The museum will reportedly cost $80 million, all of which will come from private donors, and will also feature a theater and event plaza. Since the opening is tied to the decommissioning of the U.S.S. Dallas, the dates for groundbreaking or opening of the museum have yet to be announced, but officials hope to open sometime in 2016 or 2017.
The U.S.S. Dallas nuclear submarine will be the centerpiece of the proposed Dallas Maritime Museum.
