USS Arizona Memorial aka Pearl Harbor
- Rob Belles
- 8 minutes ago
- 4 min read
On our February 2026 Holland America Hawaii Circle Cruise we docked overnight in Honolulu. Since we had two days we planned to spend the morning of the second day visiting the Memorial. To learn more about the excursion <CLICK HERE> to read our Travel Like An Architect Blog.
The memorial consists of the open air Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, two museums, and the USS Arizona Memorial. Nearby are the USS Bowfin Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum and the USS Missouri Battleship Museum. The Arizona Memorial is accessed via a ferry. You have to obtain tickets 8 weeks prior, and they sell out.
While saw exhibits and movies while waiting for our assigned ferry time. The film and exhibits were overwhelming. The quantity and quality of film and photos from the day of the attack in 1941 are mind blowing. You felt like you were there. If you had any inclination towards pacifism this will make you a believer. There was MUCH justification for all the death and destruction.
At our assigned time we headed to the queue for the ferry out to the Arizona Memorial. The memorial is a free-standing, open air (those are not windows) structure. It straddles a portion of the sunken USS Arizona. Adjacent to the building are three concrete Mooring Quays. Originally there were 16, that were used to secure 8 ships. Only three remain and have been included in the memorial. These are best seen on the ferry ride to the Arizona Memorial.
The USS Arizona Memorial: It is iconic. You know it, even if you don’t know about it. After the end of WW II, the ship’s superstructure was removed. The ship was left, sunk, with over 1,000 bodies in it. It was deemed too difficult to raise the ship and remove the bodies. The ship IS a graveyard. It was not until 1955 (14 years after the sinking) that the navy placed a 10 foot basalt stone and plaque over the deck house. In 1958 President Eisenhower approved the creation of a National Memorial. The initial budget was $500,000 ($5.63 million in today’s dollars). The Memorial was finished in 1962, and dedicated by President Kennedy.
The authorized funding of the memorial declared the Arizona would “be maintained in honor and commemoration of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States who gave their lives to their country during the attack on Pearl Harbor”. It is NOT a specific USS Arizona Memorial. Although it does contain the names of those who died. The commission selected local Architect Alfred Preis to design the memorial. I find it an odd choice. And I am not sure HOW he could have done this. Preis was interned BY the United States at Sand Island at the start of WW II. He was detained along with expatriates from Japan, Germany, Italy, and other Axis countries living in Hawaii. Preis was Jewish and had been born in Austria. He fled Austria 1939 when Germany annexed Austria. An interesting background for a graveyard structure. The Navy dictated the structure should resemble a bridge, handle 200 people, and not touch the Arizona.
Preis’ original design had portholes where visitors could see the ship beneath the surface. The Navy vetoed these. The structure sags in the center with powerful ends to express the initial defeat and ultimate victory. Preis wanted “Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses and innermost feelings.”
The memorial has three main parts. Entry. Assembly Room. And Shrine.
The entry has an oculus and slanted walls that prepare the visitor to enter the Assembly Room.
The assembly room has seven large openings on each side to commemorate the date of the attack. You can view the sunken ship from, each opening. These extend from the floor up, and over the ceiling.
At the far end of the Assembly Room is an opening in the floor, called the well, looking down into gun turret #2. Visitors can toss flowers in honor of the fallen sailors thru this hole. It is also at this location that you can see “tears of the Arizona”, or “black tears”. This is a visible oil slick from oil leaking from the sunken battleship. This is an ongoing concern as there is an estimated 500,000 gallons of oil remaining. And, as the oil leaks the ships structure becomes more likely to rupture.
The shrine has a marble wall with names, and ranks of all the fallen sailors. It also contains names of those who served, but did not die in the attach, and have been interred here. Divers place ashes, in an urn, thru the barbette of Turret #4. The marble wall is vulnerable to salt water corrosion and was replaced in 1984 and again in 2014. To each side of the names Preis provided openings in the exterior wall that let light into the shine room. These openings are the Tree of Life - a universal symbol of renewal. Preis knew the need for a new start from his internment on Sand Island.
The memorial was CROWDED - it is not large enough for the people who want to visit. Many do not know to buy tickets months ahead of their visit, and they do not even get to see it.
It shows signs of age/wear/rust. And use. It feels “tired” to me. And dated. Given the instability of the ship underneath, and the leaking oil, I would like to see the ship raised, removed, and a new way to honor ALL those who serve the country.