Museum

USS SHANGRI-LA (CVA-38, CV-38, CVS-38)

Most of you have seen the USS. Shangri-La
Museum on the USS. Hornet in Alameda, CA.

(or at least photos of it)

Here is some great news! The Museum has been torn down, re-built and
moved to a new location.

It is now much better and more accessible. The new Museum is located on
the
2nd deck Starboard side at Frame 155 to 160. It is just aft of number 3
elevator.

Here are some photos to let you know what our
new Museum looks like now and what it looked like before Allen Elston
started work.

(NOTE: I will be adding
or modifying this page as
I receive more information from Allen)


ABOVE IS WHAT THE COMPARTMENTS LOOKED LIKE BEFORE WORK WAS STARTED.

HERE IS THE COMPLETED PROJECT.
LEFT SIDE OD COMPARTMENT RIGHT SIDE OF COMPARTMENT
WHAT A GREAT IDEA FOR USING BUNK FRAMES AS DISPLAY BOARDS
CLOSE UP OF BUNK FRAME AND TOP OF SIGN IN PODIUM
HERE IS ALLEN HARD AT WORK
PUTTING THE DISPLAY STANDS TOGETHER
DISPLAY CASE WITH DONATED ITEMS BUNK FRAME AS DISPLAY BOARD
MUSEUM SIGN MORE DISPLAYED ITEMS
PATCHES, LIGHTERS ETC. SILVER FROM OFFICER’S MESS MORE ITEMS ON DISPLAY
SHELLBACK CIRTIFICATES ETC. SIGN IN DESK
Here is Allen’s story. I was told on Friday April 14, 2006, while I was down there for my normal Docent Shift, that we were given this space. The other half of the berthing space ( which is larger) was given to the Lake Champlain CVA-39. So I measured up the space, and came home and laid it to scale on graph paper. The following Tuesday Tawny and I went down and took apart one of the cases, they came apart just like you said they would. We brought the parts down to the hanger deck and out on number 3 elevator to the scissor-lift to the dock and loaded them into my Ranger pick-up. I had determined that I would have to cut 3 of the cases down to 7ft 6in and the fourth one to 7ft even to make them fit. So we brought it home and cut it down and made a Prorto type table to fit the case. Painted everything including the case. We took it back the following Tuesday and set it up in the new space. Then we went up the the parachute locker and took apart 2 more cases and brought them home. We cut them down and I built the 3 remaining tables plus a small one for the metal locker. It took 2 trips to get the 2 cases and the four tables down there in my little pick-up. So it took from April 14th to May 21st to do all of this and the fourth case. We then left for the 2006 Reunion In Michigan City. I showed the pictures at the business meeting. When we returned from the Reunion I had the 2 Shell Cases that Bob Hayner had given me, he got them from someone else. So I used them for the legs on the podium for the guest book. I also made up the 2 photo boards that I mounted in the Rack Frames. I SAY THIS IS A JOB WELL DONE. AND A BIG THANK YOUGOES OUT TO ALLEN ELSTON AND HIS WIFE TAWNY.