In 1976, Intrepid was moored at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia and hosted exhibits as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations.

Plans originally called for Intrepid to be scrapped after decommissioning, but a campaign led by real estate developer Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation saved the carrier, and established it as a museum ship. In August 1982, the ship opened in New York City as the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. Four years later, Intrepid was officially designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Over the years, Intrepid has hosted many special events including wrestling events, press conferences, parties and the FBI operations centre after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Throughout the last several years, the Intrepid museum has operated a fund for the restoration, raising over $60 million to refit Intrepid, to improve its exhibits for visitors, and improve Pier 86.

In early July 2006, it was announced that Intrepid would undergo renovations and repairs, along with Pier 86 itself. It closed on 1 October 2006, in preparation for its towing to Bayonne, New Jersey for repairs, and later Staten Island, New York for renovation and temporary docking.

On 6 November 2006, an attempt to remove the aircraft carrier from the pier for restoration was temporarily put on hold by the Coast Guard. Despite the use of several tugs with a combined 30,000 hp (22,000 kW), officials said the ship was stuck in 24 years worth of accumulated silt and would not move.

On 11 November 2006, the United States Navy announced that it would spend $3 million to dredge the mud and silt from under Intrepid. The effort was led by the United States Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving with assistance from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Coast Guard, and contractors. The teams operated for three weeks to clear the site of mud and silt.

On 5 December 2006, after the removal of 39,000 cu yd (30,000 m3) of muck from under the ship and around its four giant screws, Intrepid was successfully removed from its pier and was towed to Bayonne.

Intrepid made a D-Day "landing" on Staten Island, 6 June 2007, after being towed from a slip at Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp.

While in Staten Island, Intrepid underwent the next phase of her refurbishment, and received an $8 million interior renovation. Never-before-seen areas of the ship including the forecastle (fo'c'sle, commonly known as the anchor chain room), general berthing quarters and the ship's machine shop will be opened to the public for the first time. The hangar deck will feature a new layout and design including new interactive exhibits. Total cost of the renovation was $120 million - $55 million for the ship and $65 million for Pier 86.

The carrier was towed back into place on the Hudson River on 2 October 2008 and reopened to the public on 8 November.


Information about this floating museum can be found at http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/