U.S.S. Olympia

U.S.S. Olympia

Olympia is the sole floating survivor of the U.S. Navy's Spanish-American War fleet. It was from her deck, during the Battle of Manila Bay, that Commodore George Dewey spoke the famous words "You may fire when ready, Gridley."

The ship was built (laid down) at the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California and launched on November 5, 1892.

The Battle of Manila Bay resulted in the sinking or capture of the entire Spanish Pacific fleet.

The Cruiser Olympia Society merged with the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1996, and the ship remains docked near the museum along with the submarine, U.S.S. Becuna.

Visitors may pay to take a self-guided tour of both the Olympia and the Becuna.

Location

Penn's Landing
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
USA

Getting There

To reach it by public transportation, you can take the Market-Frankford Line (the "El") to the 2nd Street station. From there, you can take the Route 25 bus south on Columbus Boulevard and get off at the Seaport Museum stop. Alternatively, you can take the Route 12 or Route 40 bus to Columbus Boulevard and Lombard Street and walk about 10 minutes north to the museum.

Nearby Airports

This is a list of primary airports in Pennsylvania that have scheduled passenger service on commercial airlines.