For the first time in decades, Battleship North Carolina has a new area open to visitors.
 
The ship’s cold storage compartments, the first new spaces added to the tour route in decades, can now be explored on daily tours.

The World War II vessel could store 200,000 pounds of fresh food and fed 2,000 men while it was in service and at sea.
 
Located on the third deck, the battleship’s seven refrigerated compartments held fresh meat, fruits and vegetables as well as butter and eggs.

Visitors can also get a glimpse of the ice machine room, which produced large ice blocks “to keep prepared ingredients fresh for the next day’s meals,” according to a news release.
 
“The Battleship is host to more than 200,000 visitors each year, and food is a topic that everyone can relate to,” Mary Ames Booker, the attraction’s curator, said in the release.

“Over the past several years volunteers also have made changes in the main galley (kitchen), butcher and bakeshops, and the vegetable preparation room to enhance our presentation of daily life aboard the Battleship.”

Volunteer Richard Johnson led the restoration efforts, and volunteer Leo Spencer was the designer and fabricator.