Visiting the USS Lexington Museum: a local's guide to the Blue Ghost

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If you have driven over the Harbor Bridge, you have seen her: a gray aircraft carrier parked on North Beach, looking right back at downtown across the ship channel. Locals call her the Lex. She has been a museum here since 1992, and she is one of those places that is easy to take for granted until you finally go aboard and realize how much is packed inside.

This guide covers what a visit looks like, what you pay, and how to make it work if you are bringing kids, grandparents, or a baby on your hip.

A quick bit of history

The USS Lexington (CV-16) is an Essex-class carrier that was commissioned in February 1943. She was laid down under a different name, Cabot. While she was still being built in Massachusetts, word came that the earlier carrier named Lexington had been sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea, and the new ship took the name instead.

She fought through the Pacific in World War II. Enemy reports claimed she had been sunk several times, and each time she turned up again, which is how she earned the nickname "the Blue Ghost." After the war she was modernized to fly jets, and from 1962 on she served out of Pensacola as the Navy's training carrier, qualifying student naval aviators for carrier landings for nearly three decades. In 1980 she became the first aircraft carrier with women assigned as part of the crew.

The Navy decommissioned her in November 1991. Corpus Christi, with its long ties to naval aviation, competed with other cities to bring her home. She was towed to her berth on North Beach in 1992, opened to visitors that October, and was formally dedicated on November 14, 1992. The museum says it runs without regular government funding, on admissions, donations, grants, events, and the gift shop.

Getting there and parking

The museum sits at 2914 N. Shoreline Blvd. on North Beach (also called Corpus Christi Beach), just across the ship channel from downtown. The Texas State Aquarium is right next door, so a lot of families pair the two, though that makes for a long day with small kids.

All-day parking at the museum lot is $5. Members park free.

Hours

• Most of the year (Labor Day through Memorial Day): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day) and spring break: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Closed: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

The museum is open seven days a week otherwise, but it does post occasional early closures for events. Check the museum's own site the morning you go.

Admission

General admission tickets are sold only at the admission booths on the day you visit. Online sales are for special events and the escape rooms, so do not hunt for a general ticket online.

• Adults (18+): $25
• Seniors (60+): $21
• Military: $16 (bring your ID)
• Youth (13–17): $20
• Children (4–12): $15
• Children 3 and under: free
• Members: free

The booths take cash, debit, and the major credit cards, including tap-to-pay. There is a 3% surcharge on anything that is not cash, so bring cash if that matters to you.

Your ticket includes all five self-guided routes and the 3D MEGA Theater. The flight simulator costs extra ($7 per person).

The five self-guided routes

The ship is laid out as five routes covering eleven decks. Every route starts and ends on the hangar deck, where you buy your tickets, so you can do them in any order and take breaks in between.

1. Flight Deck. The big open-air deck, roughly 910 feet long, with vintage aircraft, anti-aircraft gun mounts, the arresting gear that caught landing planes, and the navigation bridge. This is the photo-op route.
2. Foc'sle. The forward part of the ship, with the anchor machinery, officers' quarters, and a Pearl Harbor exhibit.
3. Gallery Deck. Just below the flight deck: the Combat Information Center, the captain's cabin, and the ready rooms where pilots were briefed.
4. Lower Decks. How up to 3,000 crew lived: the chapel, the crew's galley, the sick bay and dental clinic, the engine room, and a large scale-model gallery.
5. Hangar Deck. Where planes were stored and serviced during the war. Today it holds World War II aircraft, the theater, the flight simulator, the café, and the gift shop.

Along the routes there are QR codes with extra videos and text, in English and Spanish. Join the "LEX Tour" Wi-Fi on board and scan them with your phone's camera.

You will also see volunteers in yellow shirts around the ship. The museum notes that many of them served aboard the Lexington. If your kids have questions, these are the people to ask.

The 3D MEGA Theater

The theater is on the hangar deck and is free with admission. Shows run every hour on the hour, starting at 10 a.m., seven days a week. It is wheelchair accessible. It also makes a handy break when everyone needs to sit down for a while.

Bringing kids, grandparents, or a baby

This is a real warship, not a building made to look like one, and the museum is upfront about it. Expect steep ladders, high thresholds, and low overheads. The museum asks visitors to watch their heads and their step, not to run, and to keep children close.

What that means in practice:

• Wheels go a long way, but not everywhere. The hangar deck and flight deck are wheelchair accessible, and the LEX LIFT elevator runs between them. The theater, café, gift shop, and restrooms are all on the hangar deck. The routes below decks rely on ladders, so bring a baby carrier instead of a stroller.
• Start with the big open spaces. With little ones, the hangar deck, the theater, and the flight deck are the easiest wins. Save the ladder-heavy routes for a second visit, or take turns with another adult.
• Plan for the weather. The flight deck is an open-air steel deck in South Texas sun, so on a summer day it gets hot. Bring hats and sunscreen, and go up early.
• Wear real shoes. Flip-flops and ship ladders do not mix.

Food on board

You cannot bring outside food or drinks onto the ship. The Mess Deck Café sits at the aft end of the hangar deck and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The menu is casual: burgers, hot dogs, pizza, sandwiches, chicken tacos, a shrimp basket, nachos, Frito pie, and drinks including ICEEs. Since it closes before the ship does, eat before 4 if you are staying late.

Extras worth knowing about

• Flight simulator: A 15-seat F/18 ride on the hangar deck, $7 per person, available during regular hours.
• Guided tours: The museum offers guided options you book ahead, including a flight operations tour, a hard hat tour, and ghost or paranormal tours. Call the museum for details and pricing.
• Escape rooms: Three ship-themed escape rooms, booked online.
• Camp LEX: Overnight stays aboard the ship for organized youth groups, like scout troops.
• Special events: The museum hosts events throughout the year, including a Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony in December and seasonal movie nights in the theater.

Pets

No pets aboard. Service animals only.

Local tips

• Give it a few hours. You can see a lot in a couple of hours if you stick to the hangar and flight decks. Doing all five routes and reading everything takes most of a day.
• Do the hot routes first. In summer, go up to the flight deck soon after opening, then head inside.
• Out-of-town guests. The Lex is a great choice when family visits. From the flight deck you can look out over the bay toward the downtown skyline.
• Check before you go. Prices, hours, and event closures change. The museum's own site and phone line, 1-800-LADY-LEX (361-888-4873), are the final word.