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City councilor: Bring USS John F. Kennedy to Boston

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 25, 2009 03:14 PM

Globe File Photo/George Rizer

Hundreds of people gathered at Castle Island to welcome the gigantic carrier during her 2007 visit.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A Boston city councilor says he would like the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy to be brought to Massachusetts and made into a museum.

"I still think Boston should be the home port," Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy said.

On Monday, the US Navy announced that it was offering the the carrier, which is 1,052 feet long and weighs 164 million pounds, for free to any state, municipality, or non-profit that wants to use it as a museum or memorial.

In 2007, when the carrier came to Boston a month before its decommissioning ceremony, it attracted mile-long lines of people.

Murphy said at the time that he thought bringing the carrier to the city would be great for tourism.

The Kennedy family's strong Massachusetts ties make Boston the best place for a carrier bearing the Kennedy name to have a home, he reiterated today.

"Obviously, Boston and Massachusetts are proud of our associations with the Kennedys, and we just lost the lion of the Senate a few months ago," Murphy said, referring to the death of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "The Kennedys are synonymous with Boston, and it's very fitting for us to bring that ship here."

Murphy said he will refile a resolution next week to look into the possibility of having the ship stay in Boston. He hopes to put together a group of businesspeople, philanthropic groups, and other supporters of the proposal and file a proposal with the Navy. However, Murphy acknowledged, there are some hurdles to clear.

"It will be hard for us to compete with a city that has a warmer climate that could attract visitors every month of the year, or one with a deep-water port," Murphy said. "Right now, we do not have a suitable location inside the harbor."

Ideas floated in the past have included mooring the carrier near the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester. "But there would be a great amount of money needed for dredging, since it's shallow," Murphy said. He said he wouldn't advocate using taxpayer money to pay for the project and preferred a charitable foundation.

Massachusetts is already home to one decommissioned ship. The USS Massachusetts battleship is located off the coast of Fall River and was turned into a museum over 40 years ago.

"If some city or town is going to get a Kennedy ship, it should be us," Murphy said. "This is home."