Sunburned Navy SEAL candidates stand at attention on the beach, preparing to grab small zodiac boats and enter the sea at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2010. (Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — The Navy SEAL Museum San Diego, which announced plans to open a downtown location early last year, will officially open its doors to the public on Oct. 4. Entry tickets go on sale Sept. 1.
The museum at 1001 Kettner Blvd. will be the second location for the original Navy SEAL Museum, which opened in 1985 in Fort Pierce, Fla. That’s where the predecessors of the SEALs trained in 1945 for the invasion of Normandy’s beaches during World War II.
For decades, directors of the Florida museum had dreamed of opening a second location in San Diego because generations of the Navy’s Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) teams and Special Warfare Combat Crewman teams (SWCC) have trained in nearby Coronado since the 1950s.
The San Diego location will open in a 10,000-square-foot building that was formerly owned by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). Last year, MCASD consolidated its operations in La Jolla and sold its two downtown San Diego buildings on Kettner. Besides the building the SEAL museum will occupy, the adjacent Depot building (a former baggage storage building for the nearby Santa Fe Depot train station) was sold to UC San Diego, which with the financial support of Conrad Prebys Foundation will turn the property into an arts incubator and cultural hub.
The Navy SEAL Museum San Diego was a passion project for retired Navy Capt. Todd Perry, who spent 40 years in the Navy SEALs. He recently stepped down as museum executive director and was replaced by the museum’s former deputy executive director, Brian “Beef” Dreschler, a retired Navy captain who previously commanded the Naval Special Warfare Center.
Dreschler said in a statement that the San Diego Museum will not only tell the history of the SEAL program but also educate the public on the extreme training and sacrifices its teams undergo.
“Navy SEALs have played transformational roles in our nation’s history through clandestine operations. And due to that fact, many Americans have no idea what it takes to become a SEAL, how we came to be, what our missions entailed, and where we’re going in the future,” Dreschler said. “We will convey all of this through engaging and hands-on exhibitions that utilize cutting-edge technology, as well as face-to-face interactions with local history docents — most of whom served in the SEAL Teams — and other special warfare operators.”
The museum was originally scheduled to open last fall, but construction delays, including the need for a new HVAC system, pushed back the opening.
The museum’s operating hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Mondays (closed on Tuesdays). Tickets will be sold online for timed entry slots. Prices have not been announced. For updates, visit navysealmuseumsd.org.
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