USS Alabama (battleship)
Fast battleship of the United States Navy in Mobile, Alabama. Added to the National Register in 1986, and a National Historic Landmark.
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What it is
USS Alabama, hull number BB-60, is a retired battleship. She was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1940s during World War II. The first American battleships designed after the Washington Treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns, but Congressional refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding was exacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Structure |
| Address | Battleship Pkwy., Mobile, AL |
| County | Mobile County |
| Listed | Jan 14, 1986 |
| Listed for | Military |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 86000083 |
| Type of place | battleship, museum ship, preserved watercraft |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 1 structure |
| Standing | Yes |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | Battleship Pkwy., Mobile, AL |
| Website | ussalabama.com ↗ |
| Coordinates | 30.6819° N, 88.0144° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Mobile | 126 listed places in Mobile → · walking tours → |
| Nearest national park unit | Gulf Islands National Seashore · 53 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Mobile County
Local history books for Mobile
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Alabama
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was USS Alabama (battleship) listed on the National Register?
Jan 14, 1986. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Can I visit USS Alabama (battleship)?
Yes. USS Alabama (battleship) is recorded as open to the public, and hours are on the official website.
Source: Official website
Where is USS Alabama (battleship)?
Battleship Pkwy., Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama. The nearest national park unit is Gulf Islands National Seashore, 53 miles away.
Source: Gulf Islands National Seashore
Where is the nomination form for USS Alabama (battleship)?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there cell service at USS Alabama (battleship)?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 86000083. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.