Awesome museum in the shores of the Mississippi! Really awesome museum and attached tour of the USS Kidd. The ship tour is the highlight of the museum and really illustrate how difficult life on a WW2 warship must have been. Side aside 3 or so hours to really get everything possible out of the museum and self guided ship tour. read more

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This museum and ship are amazing! Reasonable admission price. Limited parking in front, the nearest lot is more than a block away. The ship is dry docked, but the walkway to it is paved and not covered, so be aware of that on hot days. The ship is not handicap accessible at all. Keep in mind, young and healthy people worked on this ship, so narrow walk ways and steep narrow stairs inside. No air conditioning inside the ship. Inside the museum is amazing. It is air conditioned. Great displays, well laid out and maintained. Employees are friendly. Prices in the gift shop are reasonable. I would recommend the museum for everyone and the ship for those who are in good shape. read more

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There is a whole Museum to explore before boarding the ship itself. Lots of replicas and great stories to read. The ship itself is extremely well laid out and marked for a self guided pamphlet tour. Excellent find. read more

USS KIDD Veterans Museum - Museums Near Me - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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Visitors Beware: if you park in front of the museum, you better teleport into the museum. Otherwise, an old supervisor man named Todd will come running outside screaming at you "YOU CAN'T PARK HERE" until you explain to him that you're just trying to take a picture of the plane that's outside of the museum really quick before heading in. Anyways, this museum is really nice and the ship tour is pretty neat, too. My younger brother loves these military type things, so I'm glad I saw this place while we made a stop at Baton Rouge on our road trip. The tour of the USS KIDD was very interesting, but if you have trouble with steep ladders, it's probably not the best place to go. My brothers and I all hurt ourselves due to not being careful; my brothers hit their heads while climbing the ladders into the ship and I smacked my shin on the raised portion of a whole in the wall that you walk thru. Thank you to all the nice gentlemen at the museum who helped us on our little visit. Again: Beware of Todd the Supervisor. read more

I visited this museum a week ago for the second time with the first being about a decade ago. The museum has a building where tickets are purchased that includes two levels of scale model ships and other informational exhibits to look at along with the customary gift shop. Free parking is limited to the street next to the museum building and only has a few spaces. Outside of the building is a memorial to Lousianaians lost in wars, static aircraft and a climbable tower reaching an observation platform that overlooks the River and downtown Baton Rouge. A walkway that goes over the levee from the museum to the Kidd allows for a short walk to the star attraction. Onboard, you are greeted by a docent that gives you instructions on what to do and not to do while onboard along with a map for the self guided tour. The tour includes the main deck, bridge area and a deck below. Total time for a walk through is about 30-45 minutes. I found the ship to be in decent shape overall and reflected what life was like living on a "tin can" during the War. There are a few stairs to navigate so take your time and watch your head and use the handrails as the stairs are typical Navy 'steep'. Kidd is a Fletcher class destroyer and what makes them unique are their 5 single barrel 5" turrets giving them that different looking silhouette from other WW II US Navy ships. Another different visual with this ship is the cradle that holds it upright and is designed to raise and lower the Kidd with the changing Mississippi River levels. Pretty cool. Visiting this museum is an interesting and worthwhile effort. read more

USS KIDD Veterans Museum - USS Kidd from atop observation platform - Museums Near Me - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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The arrangement is a bit confusing: a museum building rests on the street, and the second level has a walkway to the top of the levee above, where you walk a bit to the ship. You can't buy tickets at the ship, so even if you walked on the levee to get here, you have to head down to the building. The museum had some interesting local war stories and was worth checking out, but was also a bit of a mess due to renovations and the bathrooms weren't particularly clean. But you're not here for the museum. The ship itself I was really impressed by. Unlike a battleship or an aircraft carrier, a destroyer is something you can really walk through in its entirety and wrap your head around. It is nonetheless quite an impressive ship. While you're admonished not to open closed doors or push any buttons (I assume so you don't rain hellfire on LSU by accident), there is definitely enough of the ship open, visible, and in decent condition given its age that you get an experience. The self-guided tour works pretty well, though I would be happy to hear some information as well. The history and the design of it are quite interesting, and a memorial sits back near the museum as a reminder that there are good reasons we build ships like this. Important to note that you'll want to be there well before closing to give yourself some time, and also that walking around the destroyer requires climbing a lot of cramped stairs. I took them slowly, but unfortunately, I suspect people with mobility limitations (including many of our veterans) may struggle to get around. Something to consider before you go. read more

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Soooo much history here. The volunteers when you first step on the ship were so nice and a wealth of knowledge. It's amazing to walk through something like this and feel like you're stepping into history. The self guided tour is very easy to follow and you can take your time. I love being able to do something at my own pace. An added perk is that when we went to pay, we found out that the first Sunday of the month is free admission and we didn't have to pay! Such a cool place to visit. read more

We came on a relatively cool but sunny day. The staff were very friendly, especially the man on the ship. It was fun to explore this type of battle ship, which is so different from the USS Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego. read more

I really enjoyed this museum. There are lots of really cool displays both inside and out. It helps give you a much greater appreciation for the sacrifices made during the Second World War. The parking does kind of stink because the parking lot in front of the museum can get blocked off by a train so if you park there you might end up getting stuck. read more

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If you have a local library card, you can get in for free! And this place is well worth the visit. The ship is smaller compared to some others but still a lot to see. Be careful of steep and narrow stairs. They have a volunteer onsite if you have any questions. Ask a librarian and you can get a family pass that's good for one week. read more

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The equivalent of other kid friendly military attractions in other cities. It's a well preserved relic with easy accessibility. If you're a war buff, it's worth the relatively short stop. read more

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I really enjoyed the USS Kidd and views of the Mississippi River. The destroyer was relatively small. It took 30 minutes to finish my self guided tour. I met Cameron who was a World War 2 buff. We talked about the Pacific War. He is a knowledgeable person. If you visit here, please speak to him. I heard that a Kamikaze hit the ship in Okinawa on April 11th, 1945. I was from Japan. I was glad to visit here after the war. The ship retired and rested in the Missippi River. I want many people to visit the ship and learn history. Peace! read more

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If you enjoy history, this is a great place to visit. The inside museum has lots of models of ships from WWII. They also have pictures and medals from navy men and soldiers that lost their lives. Once you get on the ship, you take a self guided tour of the ship. There are numbered arrows guiding you in the right direction. It's really neat seeing the rooms and seeing what it was like for the men and women back then. It does get a bit hot when you are down below. And you need to be careful climbing the stairs so you don't hit your head. But it's a great tour! read more

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One of two sightseeing adventures while in Baton Rouge on a Thursday afternoon before returning the rental car to Avis had me in the downtown district to see the USS Kidd destroyer. It's the original destroyer serving the US navy from 1943 to 1964. There is a USS Kidd that's currently deployed, but that isn't it. The USS Kidd (original) is named after the rear admiral Isaac C Kidd, who served on the USS Arizona on the eve of World War II in 1941. Now, it rests here in Baton Rouge as a floating museum, tourist attraction, and a reminder to us all that freedom isn't always free, and the sacrifices our nation made, made it all possible for our lifestyles of today. It was a balmy Thursday afternoon and I arrived here about 1:15pm after having lunch in Denham Springs with a long time friend of mine. Unfortunately with my timing, I got rained on and had to run to the car when the sky opened up. I was fortunate to have free parking across the street. Just got lucky to have driven by and saw a good open space. How's that for ya? Probably because it's in the middle of a work day. Who knows. The overall experience here at the USS Kidd memorial and museum was as somber and respectful as you could imagine, while gazing at the hardened steel and the war guns that keep this destroyer look battle ready. She was decommissioned in 1964 and remains a constant vigil over the many men and women in uniform serving and protecting us all over the world past, present, and the future. The USS Kidd (DD-661) is located on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at 305 South River Road, where she rests each day welcoming tourists to her docks. It's not hard to find this place, being that it's in the heart of Baton Rouge. There's signage there to direct you to her. The parking is kind of tough, as it's mostly street parking around these parts and not sure if there is a parking garage that I missed. Although I believe street parking is free, you'd might want to check on that on your next visit here to the USS Kid veterans museum. The admission price is $10, which is nice. I wasn't paying attention to whether or not they accept credit cards or not, so I just shelled out the remaining cash I had on hand and received a pass to board the destroyer. I kind of was on a tight schedule, since I had to return the rental car before 3pm to avoid getting charged an extra day. Lol The service here was as great as you can imagine. Sometimes, you just need to visit these kinds of places to gain some kind of clarity and a sense of place. The reflection that I experienced was significant, made me realize what a world we live in and how lucky we are in the western side of the world to be free as freedom can bring us. How lucky we can to be living free as the way we are, as so many of us can travel and live anyway we want to live. The USS Kidd made me feel self conscious and really fortunate to live in the USA, when there are real troubles overseas these days. We were free to roam about the boat, although there was a guided tour. For the $10 fee, it was nice to hear about the history of the USS Kidd and how she and her crew fought bravely in the closing years of World War II and in the Korean conflict of the 1950's. Soon after that, she was decommissioned and now is now resting in the waters of the Gulf Coast and here in Baton Rouge. Much has been written about the original USS Kidd, since there is a modern version of the USS Kidd still in active service these days. For the most part, visiting this museum helps bring some clarity and reflection for a world gone mad. It helps to put things into perspective and to remember those lives that have served the United States armed forces. For what its worth, I enjoyed my short time here at the USS Kidd veteran's museum here in Baton Rouge. Must've spent about 45 minutes walking around the bow and the ship itself before returning to the city streets of Baton Rouge to continue my sightseeing of the city. I'd definitely would recommend this tourist attraction, being that I found this gem on Tripadvisor and needing something to do that morning. 5 stars. Support local! A+ read more

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Our group of 4 naval history buffs have taken 3 trips across the country to visit museum ships and ship weeks. The Kidd is definitely in the running for our favorite. Admission is reasonable and we saw lots of people doing a self guided tour - there were also a couple of guides wandering around answering questions. However, we opted to pay for a guided tour ($180 for the group) and spent 4+ hours wandering around with the director himself. (Disclaimer: the tour is not supposed to be anywhere near that long, we were just having a blast and he happily had no other pressing engagements. The Kidd is the most authentic WWII era destroyer you could hope to see. It's fascinating to hear the lengths to which the staff have gone to source as much historically accurate (and often actual wartime) pieces. There is a love for the history and dignity of the Kidd that cannot be mistaken for anything else. We had to get back on the road, so I can't comment on the museum. Well, well worth your morning or afternoon. read more

Toured the USS KIDD and the Veterans Museum - both very patriotic and meaningful experiences. Definitely wear sneakers and because it is the summer the deck gets hot! This is a great place for folks from different generations to understand the sacrifices that were made for our country! Highly recommended if you are in Baton Rouge! read more

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Definitely a recommended destination for any visitor in downtown Baton Rouge! One of the most decorated American warship in WWII, this destroyer-museum perhaps has the most rooms open than any other ship museums I have been to fully experience it. Be careful though, even with the poorly-placed self-guided tour markers, you can get lost in the small ship. It's impressive how sailors can transverse so quickly within the cluster-phobic hull during the urgent wartime! The $8 admission also includes a small museum that has the hall of Louisiana veterans on the first floor and a nice collection of model ships on the second floor. All will take about an hour to finish so take a quick look into this awesome ship museum! read more

USS KIDD Veterans Museum - Museums Near Me - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

For a destroyer, there's soooo much to see! The path through the ship is clearly marked so it's hard to get lost, and each compartment has multiple signs explaining what you're seeing and how it was used during the war. Tim, an employee posted on the ship, was super informative and answered probably 100 questions from our little group of 3 college-aged boys. He really helped make the experience special for us! 10/10, would recommend! read more

I have been on so many WWII naval vessels I can't even count them all. If I'm in a city with or near one, I go there first thing. I and my husband are WWII buffs - he focuses on battles and I focus on the social history/ history of common things from that period. I have NEVER been on a WWII vessel that is better restored than the USS Kidd. NEVER. Walk on board in the morning on a weekday when most of the world is at work and the place is deserted and you'll be completely transported from the 21st Century to 1942. From the music playing on the radio to the decorations in the junior officers bunks to the perfect restoration of the enlisted men's latrines and showers to the perfectly restored bridge this vessel looks as it did when men served aboard it. Poke around in the officer's mess and be convinced that everyone has just stepped away for a minute. Peer into the radio room and wonder where the young men that put those pin-ups have gone to - surely they'll be back, as they were just here, right? This is an underappreciated gem. If you have any interest at all in WWII history - go. Definitely a must see. read more

Great museum. You get to explore so much of the ship. They've done such a great job of restoring it. My only complaint was the lack of signage and clear directions on a route you should take to see the whole thing. They give you a little map and there are arrows but it does get a bit confusing. The museum that goes along with the destroyer was really interesting as well. My main piece of advice is this, go when it's not super hot and humid outside. We went early in the day in August and it was pretty miserable being in there. I imagine we would have spent more time exploring if it'd been less muggy. read more

My first trip to a WWII vessel, I can't wait to go to another one! We didn't know this place existed. We happened upon it when we went to the State Capitol building (we drove past it). We loved it in here, the museum itself is very moving, it's got displays of fallen soldiers as young as 27 in there and it was very spiritual to walk around and read about these heroes. Once we'd finished with the museum part, we headed out to the boat, what a sight to behold! It was quite breathtaking to be standing on the shoulders of history like that! There were 4 vets on board and a young guy offering to answer any questions we may have had. You can take your time and walk around this piece of the past, it's huge! and HOT!! I dunno how those guys did it with no proper AC on board! I was gladly surprised at just how under rated Baton Rouge is, if you have a day or two free on your trip to Louisiana, go to Baton Rouge, you won't regret it! read more

If you like US history, a visit to this destroyer is a must. At eight dollars for admission, this staffed and funded by volunteers self guided tour, is a deal. It was quite something to walk through the ship, climbing up and down and peeking into where so many sailors have served the USA so valiantly. The adjoining museum is interesting as well. Go there! read more

Stops selling tickets at 2:45, so hours should say they close at 2:45 pm!! Would've been nice to know before we came all the way across town. read more

One of the coolest things I have ever seen. I was a little pressed for time so I didn't get to stay as long as would have liked. I would recommend that you plan for at least two hours and read all of the notes posted all over the ship. A very nice piece of american history read more

USS KIDD Veterans Museum - Museums Near Me - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kidd was the first US flag officer to die during World War II, and the first American admiral ever to be killed in action. The Kidd is extremely well preserved and is now a part of the Louisiana Veterans museum. The docents are navy veterans who are very knowledgeable about the ship. It is a walking tour although there are organized group tours and even sleepovers for youth groups. The rest of the museum was very informative about naval history on the Mississippi. A word of warning: this is a WWII era ship and does not have many modern conveniences or safety features. Doorways are low so watch your head. Access to higher or lower decks is via narrow and steep staircases. My severe arthritis didn't allow me to go anywhere except the main deck which was a disappointment for me. read more

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This was a fantastic experience for my daughter and I. We stayed overnight. Mr. Larry was a fantastic guide. We left not only knowing more about the ship but feeling very connected to the men that served on it. Would highly recommend this read more

Great Naval ship to visit! Really gives you a sense of how the sailors lived and what they had to endure being assigned to a ship this size! Well maintained and restored ship. Kids will love it as well as Naval Enthusiasts!!! read more

Our school booked a field trip to visit the USS KIDD for 4/27/2020. We had been looking forward to this trip because my son loves history, ships, and we have never been. Sadly but understandably, the field trip had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19. The school and travel agency was working towards getting refunds for the parents, but we were finally notified we would only be getting a partial refund, for the travel agency fee. We were told USS KIDD would not be refunding ANY of our ticket. I had prepaid for both my son and myself a ticket, which the museum is refusing to issue a refund for-- so refunding to refund an admission fee for an admission we couldn't even exercise if we wanted to, because our US President has extended the stay at home order THROUGH 4/30/2020!! The museum is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC!!! Because of this poor business decision and practice, I will never visit this establishment or recommend it. Full disclosure, I am all for supporting a museum and the arts and preserving history, but this was not a willing donation. Shame on you, USS KIDD. read more

My hubby and I loved it. It was so awesome to actually tour the WWII battleship that was potrayed in the movie "Flag of Our Fathers"...My hubby is a Marine vet and really had a nice time. It was beautifully restored!! read more

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I'm sure most know by now about First Sunday, which means free admission to the Kidd, LASM, and LSU Museum of Art, and if you don't, now you do! We enjoyed a good hour of so looking at ship models, the Hall of Honors, and other interesting artifacts. We didn't go on the ship today as it was crowded, but it's always a great time when we do. If going on the ship with young ones, if you're going below deck, please be aware you might have to carry your kid as the stairs are steep! read more

We just happened upon this living museum as we were walking along the water front during our recent stay in Baton Rouge and I am so glad we did! Having been raised in a military family (army), I am fascinated with all things military. This did not disappoint. We got a personal tour from a former navy sailor who shared his personal stories when he was aboard his ship in the 60s. It was incredible!!!! I highly recommend this tour to everyone visiting Baton Rouge. You will be so happy you did!!! read more

I had the privilege of spending the night on board the USS Kidd with a scout group, so most of my review is colored by that experience. The tour guide, dressed in an authentic 1960's naval uniform, did a fantastic job of illustrating the history behind this vessel as well as the functionality behind each area. The kids (and adults) all had an amazing time and the racks (navyspeak for beds) were more comfortable than I thought they would be. Loved it! read more

Awesome! Everything from still rotating guns to overnight camping available for groups of twenty or more. Really neat self guided your. Warning though, it gets VERY warm below decks in some areas. Seek out the air conditioned bunk rooms! read more

Great experience! First time ever in Baton Rouge and we only had half a day. This outing did not disappoint! The ship has so many moving parts and things to see and explore. It is affordable ($8/adult) and worth the trip. The river area is beautiful. I took my husband and two teenagers, we all enjoyed out time on the ship. Imaging life on this battleship made me even more thankful to our men in service. read more

Friendly staff and a nice place to go to downtown. My boyfriend loves volunteering here and they have a lot of great programs.

We came at 4:42 driving 60 miles here at they closed the museum already, all doors. Having 18 minutes before 5 pm would be enough to walk and vist this ship. I am really disappointed. read more

I am a true patriot, so I truly enjoyed the museum , and all the history on the people from Louisiana who served our country throughout the years. The restoration on the ship was a little sub par compared to others I have been threw. But I would go anyway, lots to be learned there. read more

Normally I wouldn't give something like this 5 stars, as there are war historical sites all over the place, but this one was special. I've been on WW2 ships (we have some sites here in Buffalo) and seen the WW2 museums, and this really wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but I'm going to give it 5 stars due to the quality of service. We arrived on a Saturday around noon, and there were maybe like 8 people on the ship at the time. The historian (probably a volunteer) taking the tickets started talking to us. My GF mentioned that her grandfather was on the ship during WW2, and he pulled out the book of all of the veterans. We verified his service record, and then the historian talked to us for what must have been fifteen minutes. He had all sorts of stories and different tales of what her grandfather would have experienced. Frankly, the historian guy did an awesome job. I wish I knew his name, because he really made our day. read more

Came here as a World War II history buff. I've been on two other World War II era ships before, the Iowa and the SS Lane Victory in Los Angeles. With that said, the Kidd itself, is another great historic ship. There are definitely constant restoration projects in the works as is any museum ship, but a lot of the ship was accessible and was great to walk through. However, do not skip out on the museum itself. I initially had intended to only spend an hour here, but there was so much great history about the state and it's links to maritime military history, especially to World War II, that I had spent 3.5 hours just lingering and reading as much as possible. I got to the museum about 30 minutes before opening, and the website said a free spot is parking in the casino's structure next door. If you're visiting on a non-busy day, there's enough parallel parking spaces on the street in front of the museum itself, that I would just go straight there. You must enter the museum building itself to purchase admission to allow you to walk across the levee walkway to the ship itself, so don't go straight to the ship without a ticket. The staff were very friendly. Although I didn't ask about the ship itself, as a tourist from California, they were very willing to help out with some go-to things to see and do in New Orleans. A great place to see when you're in the area. read more