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STOP 14
USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center Museum - USS Arizona Memorial
In the words of USS Arizona Memorial architect Alfred Preis, "The form, wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory. Wide openings in walls and roof permit a flooding by sunlight and a close view of the sunken battleship eight feet below, both fore and aft. At low tide, as the sun shines upon the hull, the barnacles, which excrust it, shimmer like gold jewels...a beautiful sarcophagus."
In the early 1980's, the National Park Service began to map and photograph the USS Arizona. Not much was known of her remains. Underwater work had not been done since the Memorial was constructed in 1962. In 1983, an archeological survey was initiated to determine the external condition of the ship. One of the results of that mapping project is this model.