Launched in 1942 and mothballed in 1991, the vessel in 1999 became the focus of competition among various cities that wanted it as a tourist attraction. In November, 1999, it was towed 5,800 miles from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash, and temporarily moored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

In January, 2000, the U.S. Navy officially selected Camden as the site for the battleship museum. In September, she was permanently berthed at a new pier near the New Jersey State Aquarium along Camden's Delaware River waterfront. On Oct. 15, 2001, she was officially opened as a public memorial and museum.