USS Midway Museum

This aircraft carrier had a 47-year military history that began a week after the Japanese surrender of World War II in 1945. By the time the Midway was decommissioned in 1991, the warship had patrolled the Taiwan Straits in 1955, operated in the Tonkin Gulf, served as the flagship from which Desert Storm was conducted, and evacuated 1,800 people from volcano-threatened Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines. In all, more than 225,000 men served aboard the Midway. The carrier is now moored at the Embarcadero and in 2004 became a floating naval-aviation museum. Self-guided audio tours take visitors to several levels of the ship while recounting the story of life on board; the highlight is climbing up the superstructure to the bridge and gazing down on the 1,001-foot-long flight deck, with various aircraft poised for duty. Note: Be prepared to climb some stairs and ladders; allow 90 minutes for your visit.

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