The new museum will offer a rare peek into the lives of Navy SEALS (Navy SEAL Museum)
Museum, Navy SEALS, Columbia District

New Downtown Museum in the Works

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

It will be the second Navy SEAL Museum in the country, and one that promises a riveting, intimate look at the intensity involved in serving as an amphibious and sometimes airborne soldier. (The term “SEAL” is a loose acronym for “sea, air and land.”)

The SEALS are a clandestine, intriguing arm of our military, which the museum at 1001 Kettner Blvd. will capture when it opens toward the end of this year. Both immersive and static exhibits will pervade throughout the two-level San Diego structure, which will echo the original SEAL museum in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Interactive galleries will give visitors the opportunity to explore exhilarating missions of Navy SEALS by creating virtual missions of their own through onsite technology. There will also be an “honor wall” displaying more than 300 names of fallen SEALS; an exhibit framing the unit’s history; and a store featuring related merchandise and keepsakes.

The 10,000-square-foot bayfront location was formerly utilized by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.