Nice area. Guided inside session. Guy that did the information tour was great personality and information. Cool it is free ask for donations.

Loved visiting and the tour. We are now part of the elite lightship anchor lifters club. Better than the Chesapeake in Baltimore where they charge a fortune to board. Totally worth it, but skip if you are closterphobic. Great experience!

This museum is tiny (and I do mean tiny!) but mighty and full of historical memorabilia about Ocean View in Norfolk VA. It is staffed with volunteers who are friendly, knowledgeable, and and helpful. Lots of photos on the walls, in display cases, and on tables. A neat red and blue rowboat is a visual delight--Im sure it has an interesting history of its own. Will go back to find out.

What a great little museum. Admission fee is a free will donation. Guide is a charming gentleman. Kids loved it!

Went here during the Free Museum Day and it was amazing! Its a great piece of history that they are showing people, and the people running it were very welcoming. I personally love museums like this one and would recommend that if you are in the area definitely check it out!You will not be disappointed.

Love the Historical value. Lots to explore is such a small area

It would have been more fun if it was open

Fun and historic place to visit. One of the few remaining lightships in the world, where there were once several hundreds. This is officially Lightship 101 (WAL 524) in the U.S. Built in 1916, this 360-ton steel ship, 101 ft (30.8 m) long, with a 25 ft (7.6 m) beam, had multiple duty stations before it was decommissioned in 1964. Among them are Cape Charles, Virginia, the Overfalls station off Cape Henlopen, Delaware, and on Stonehorse Shoal off Nantucket, Massachusetts. The light was displayed from the top of the mast. Hull painted red, superstructure painted white.

A whole lot of Coast Guard history packed into a small lighthouse ship. It was able to keep my two teenagers engaged and off their phones- so thats a huge win in and of itself

If you love history especially of ships, this is a place ccx e to visit. Also if you need a COMREL they always need help cleaning the outside of the ship.

This place is so cool and interesting, great place to take the kids. Only downside is that I wish they would open the upper deck so people can see what that is like.

Very informative tour guide that was very knowledgeable about lightships.

Its a nice museum ship. Unfortunately the city decided to encase it in concrete in 1986. It was in the water and fairly neglected rather than preserved for at least 20 years before this. The visit is free but do donate. Hopefully there will be a fundraiser to restore the ship one day.

Great tour guide, he was very informative

Even though the ship is set in concrete for some reason I could still feel it rolling in the ways very cool experience

Interesting facts, donation only, learned a little about lightships.

We stumbled upon this place. Didn’t even know there were lighthouse ships. And the docent, Les, gave us a great informative tour. This is the kind of thing we travel for. Unexpected and unique.

It was an informative tour, I learned a lot

Historical light ship right on the waterfront.

Very interesting and learned a lot here. Would go again.

I intended to come back to this museum when I didnt have kids in tow because there is much to learn here. So today I was able to -- with two older women friends. I would have given the museum 4 or maybe 5 instead of 3 stars except for the fact that my guest said to me, Virtually nothing about women in the Portsmouth history, as if women never lived here! Just lots of war, war, war.This is true. Didnt women have any role in Portsmouth?Of course they couldnt work on the light ship (which is very educational and I take all my out of town visitors here). But I hope the rulers of the museum finds a way to include an exhibit on the women of Portsmouth, maybe nameless but they kept the place going when you really think about it.

Absolutely wonderful historic site! I suggest everyone should go!

Really cool tour

Yes...just donit

Great walk through living history

Great service

Crazy to see the living condition back then arent much different than what they are today on CG ships.