National Historic Landmark · preserved watercraft · Boston, Massachusetts

U.s.s. Constitution

1797 heavy frigate of the U.S. Navy in Boston, Massachusetts. Added to the National Register in 1966, and a National Historic Landmark.

13 American Flag Given To The USS Constitution (1932)160826-N-EA547-040 160826-N-EA547-040160826-N-EA547-063 160826-N-EA547-063160830-N-EA547-660 160830-N-EA547-660
Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

Wikipedia · USS Constitution

USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the second oldest naval vessel still in commission, and the oldest still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. The name "Constitution" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March or May for the frigates that were to be constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

National Register of Historic Places
Property typeStructure
AddressBoston Naval Shipyard, Boston, MA
CountySuffolk County
ListedOct 15, 1966
Reference number66000789
Type of placepreserved watercraft, frigate
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark
Contributing resources1 structures
StandingYes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Check the website
AddressBoston Naval Shipyard, Boston, MA
Websitenavy.mil/local/constitution
Coordinates42.37246, -71.05656 · Directions ↗
Nearest national park unitBoston National Historical Park · 0 mi · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearbyWest Hill Park 33 mi
Listing on the Register does not open the door. Unless a museum or park runs it, treat this as private property and see it from the sidewalk.

Explore

Why you would stay

Reference

Exists because it is true

Sources

Location, dates, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 66000789. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.