Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 3, 1994 TAG: 9404030139
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
All those thrills and more will be available in one place when Norfolk's latest downtown tourist attraction, the Nauticus national maritime center, opens in two months.
The $55.5 million Nauticus - whose June 1 debut will come slightly more than a year after the Harbour Park baseball diamond opened - is intended as a showplace of maritime technology, displaying such things as the latest scientific ocean research and sophisticated combat gizmos used by the Navy.
Along the way are lots of interactive exhibits - intricate video games and industrial models that let visitors drill the ocean floor for oil or design their own cargo ships or guide a submarine through the murky sea to hunt for an enemy vessel.
The three-level, 120,000-square-foot building "is designed to remind you of a ship," said James Myers, public relations manager for Nauticus.
Inside its curving, hull-like gray exterior, Nauticus' passageways are long, if not exactly narrow. Visitors cross a gangplank over a reflecting pool to enter and go the length of the building to a ship's bridge, a replica using actual equipment from the retired Navy destroyer USS Preble.
"This is as authentic as you can make it," said Myers, looking out the window at ship traffic on the Elizabeth River. "There's a lot happening out here all the time. The harbor is part of the entertainment."
The Navy plays a big role in Nauticus. The Hampton Roads Naval Museum will be located within the center, along with what is sure to be one of the biggest attractions for naval warfare buffs, a 40-seat theater that resembles the command compartment of an Aegis destroyer.
There, visitors will use monitors to "experience" an incoming attack and can push buttons to fire missiles and take evasive action. Of course, human responses are always too slow to save the ship, Myers said.
"All hell breaks loose, and the screen [showing the attack] goes away," he said. Then, the scenario is repeated with the Aegis system and its "smart weapons" turned on, and the enemy threat is eliminated in seconds.
The center also has exhibits on famous naval battles, from the Monitor-Merrimack encounter of the Civil War to the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II, and it has displays of artifacts from well-known shipwrecks.
Also available are wave machines and weather displays, including a do-it-yourself TV studio with weather radar.
There's an outdoor theater for special shows, and a 600-foot pier being built next to Nauticus will be available for tours of visiting ships.
Nauticus was built with public and private funds. Myers said about $10 million came from corporate and individual contributions. The city is guaranteeing about $39 million in loans and will own and operate the $3.5 million pier. A state economic development grant provided $3 million.
City tourism officials expect Nauticus will give a major boost to the already thriving regional vacation business.
"Norfolk can expect to share visitors right off the bat with Williamsburg and Virginia Beach and our surrounding region," said Susan Bak, acting director of the Norfolk Convention and Visitors' Bureau. "Nauticus is going to be an attraction that, once people are near it, they're going to want to visit."
The various other tourist lures in the city, such as the Chrysler Museum and the Virginia Zoo, drew almost 850,000 visitors last year. The opening-year attendance estimate for Nauticus is 800,000.
The center is across Town Point Park from the Waterside riverfront marketplace on what used to be Norfolk's Banana Pier, a landing spot for produce from Central and South America. A retail shop in Nauticus will carry the Banana Pier name. The center also will have a cafeteria-style restaurant.
Tickets will be $10 for adults and $7.50 for children. The Aegis theater is one of two special attractions inside that will cost an additional $2.50.
by CNB