Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum

Coming from a Naval family and a Vallejo native, I can't believe I've never been here before. It's just a cool experience to see the History of Vallejo and Mare Island memorabilia. All Vallejo veterans should come here and see the history. Especially military families who take pride being from Vallejo. Support your town museums and share the culture.

I came here on a Tuesday morning with my brothers and stepdad. I am not so much into history, but it is fascinating to see all the things they have there. It is a small museum, but it is a look back in time. My stepdad thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I enjoyed it as well as my brothers. They have a cool replica of a ship right as you walk up the stairs. They also have a periscope so you can see the surrounding area. It was empty which made it a really good experience because we could take our time and talk as much as we wished. I do hope that they could expand and add more things in the future. I do hope more people will come and check this place out.

If you're a history buff or a big Navy fan like myself, this museum is definitely a must visit place when you're in the area. Lots of historical displays & exhibits that will take you back in time of Vallejo's rich US Navy history most especially the old Naval Shipyard at Mare Island. This place was fairly big. Two stories high and there's a little bookstore too. A chock full of visuals that will keep your eyes busy, I'm sure you'll learn something new about this wonderful city as well.There's an actual sub periscope on the second floor that you could peep through and see out. I must admit It was pretty cool!They're open Tuesday through Saturday Noon to 4 pm. Admission is cheap, five bucks for adults, three bucks for seniors & students and kids 12 and under free. I had no problem with parking. This place also offered hall rentals for events you may want to hold here.I swear there must be a naval ship that starts with USS something -- for almost everything you can think of.I was looking for USS Prime Rib but no such luck for me...

This museum is housed in a well maintained 1923 building that is listed on the National Register. As soon as I walked in, I enjoyed the classical Italianate palace architecture. The original imposing staircase dominates the first floor. High ceilings, large windows, and original terrazzo floors really add to the wow factor. A 1/4 scale model of the bow of USS Saginaw, the first ship built at Mare Island, juts over the staircase. It is quite a building. There are also interesting displays chronicling the long history of Mare Island and the City of Vallejo. The 2nd floor the submarine periscope gives a panoramic view of Vallejo. I bet kids would love to look out it and adults tooI so appreciate these small museums. They are run by dedicated volunteers on shoestring budgets. They save our history for future generations.

Husband likes naval ships so we went on Sat 12/15/07. It's FREE the 3rd Sat of the month so that's why we picked this date.It used to be the building for the City Hall which was built in 1927, & it's on the National Register of Historic Places.The museum is called "Naval & Historical" because the City of Vallejo & the Navy have grown together since the 1850's when Mare Island became the nation's 1st naval base in the Western US. Mare Island built over 500 ships for our Navy over the years. - Info from website.There are 5 galleries inside:Hall of History-teak floors; Chinese rice matting ceiling; oak shutters, chandeliers; catering kitchen. They had a Teddy Bear party w/ Xmas tree, teddy bears, some desserts, & hot chocolate & mulled cider. Very cute.South Gallery-formerly the Mayor's office & police station. Separate bathrooms available here.Staircase of Seapower-1/4 scale model of the bow of USS Saginaw, first ship built at Mare Island & various industrial activities over the yrs. Submarine periscope from USS Baya (SS-318) at the top of the staircase is Cool, supposedly you can get a 360 degree view of Vallejo & Mare Island from it.The Heritage Chamber - former City Council Chamber, now an auditorium, dedicated to the history of prominent women in Vallejo.Saginaw Gallery-displays Navy Material associated w/ Mare Island.Bookstore - it's small, has books, t-shirts, local history, postcards, etc.Bathrooms also available upstairs too.Hrs & Fees:Tues - Sat 10a-4:30pAdults $3Seniors (60+) & juniors (12-17) $2children & members FREEWebsite:http://www.vallejomuseum.org/index.htm

For it's price, it's place is OK. For $3 its a good value for students and students, the "adult" price of $5 is only OK in terms of value. There really isn't much a museum staff, everyone including the guy collecting admission did not seem interested at all. The naval history and artifacts are mildly educational, but there's just not a lot of artifacts. The periscope out to the roof is pretty cool, but there is not much in the way of displays when it came to Vallejo Naval History. There is a separate section on 1940's and 1950's items from the Vallejo area that is interesting. For example, there is a old telephone switchboard on display and photographs of Vallejo's bus industry. If this kinda stuff excites you, this is the place. There is also a Japanese Bhuddist scroll on the wall signifying peace. As a work of art, this is a phenomenal piece, drawn with thousands of Kanji Characters.Overall, an OK place if you are into looking pre-1960's life in Vallejo, but be forewarned, it's a small museum.

Of course this place is great for those interested in history, especially naval history, but it is also nice to just visit and see what the local community has been doing to bring culture and refinement to the thug-infested areas of the desolate waste that was Vallejo.That being said, be careful of your cars, and use a lot of heavy chains if you come by bike.The lack of the fifth star is the dearth of information on just how close Mare Island came to be NASA HQ, which would have given this whole area a stunning new future, and perhaps Silicon Valley would have been in American Canyon. You can all hope that Lyndon Johnson and all his Texas cronies will rot in their graves for this.

If you are a local history buff, or a naval history buff, you should stop by and take a gander. The place is very small and quaint, so you don't have to dedicate a lot of time to go through it. Those of you with an Oakland library card have access to free tickets for this spot,. That's how I got in. I liked looking at all of the different displays but much of the information was lost on me since I do not know much about ships. The room downstairs with displays of local artifacts was more interesting to me. For example, I learned there was a Carnegie library in Vallejo that was torn down. It's too bad because I am sure it was beautiful.

Neat little building with historic naval stuff. I like the telescope upstairs that shows you all of Vallejo. I also like the little ol lady in the front who hustled us for donation even though it's supposed to be free day. Aaah, we're suckers!The best thing for me is the 2nd floor bathroom! Probably the nicest bathroom you'll find in all of Vallejo.

We visited the museum on September 13 and enjoyed it. The building was actually the highlight, as it's the former City Hall and it's lovely & historic. The exhibits were somewhat interesting, and they gave us a better appreciation of Vallejo & the (former) Naval Shipyard at nearby Mare Island. There's also a nice little gift shop, and a very sweet-natured elderly volunteer was working there. We briefly spoke to two of the other volunteers and they were very pleasant. It's obvious that the museum is "a labor of love" on the part of the volunteers.