Editing USS Constitution (section)

===1925 restoration and tour===
Admiral [[Edward Walter Eberle]], Chief of Naval Operations, ordered the [[Board of Inspection and Survey]] to compile a report on her condition, and the inspection of 19 February 1924 found her in grave condition. Water had to be pumped out of her hold every day just to keep her afloat, and her stern was in danger of falling off. Almost all deck areas and structural components were filled with rot, and she was considered to be on the verge of ruin. Yet the Board recommended that she be thoroughly repaired in order to preserve her as long as possible. The estimated cost of repairs was $400,000. [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Curtis D. Wilbur]] proposed to Congress that the required funds be raised privately, and he was authorized to assemble the committee charged with her restoration.<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 342–343.</ref>

The first effort was sponsored by the national [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|Elks Lodge]]. Programs presented to schoolchildren about "Old Ironsides" encouraged them to donate pennies towards her restoration, eventually raising $148,000. In the meantime, the estimates for repair began to climb, eventually reaching over $745,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=745000|start_year=1926}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) after costs of materials were realized.<ref>Martin (1997), p. 344.</ref> In September 1926, Wilbur began to sell copies of a painting of ''Constitution'' at 50&nbsp;cents per copy. The silent film [[Old Ironsides (film)|''Old Ironsides'']] portrayed ''Constitution'' during the First Barbary War. It premiered in December and helped spur more contributions to her restoration fund. The final campaign allowed memorabilia to be made of her discarded planking and metal. The committee eventually raised more than $600,000 after expenses, still short of the required amount, and Congress approved up to $300,000 to complete the restoration. The final cost of the restoration was $946,000 ({{Inflation|US|946,000|1954|fmt=eq}}).<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 344–347.</ref>

[[File:Constitutionpanamacanal1932.png|thumb|upright|left|alt=Photograph of a ship being towed through a canal|Transiting the Panama Canal 1932]]

Lieutenant John A. Lord was selected to oversee the reconstruction project, and work began while fund-raising efforts were still underway. Materials were difficult to find, especially the live oak needed; Lord uncovered a long-forgotten stash of live oak (some {{convert|1500|ST|MT|abbr=on|disp=sqbr}}) at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], Florida, that had been cut sometime in the 1850s for a ship-building program that never began. ''Constitution'' entered dry dock with a crowd of 10,000 observers on 16 June 1927. Meanwhile, Charles Francis Adams had been appointed as Secretary of the Navy, and he proposed that ''Constitution'' make a tour of the United States upon her completion, as a gift to the nation for its efforts to help restore her. She emerged from dry dock on 15 March 1930; approximately 85 percent of the ship had been "renewed" (i.e. replaced) to make her seaworthy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2015/05/07/maintaining-and-restoring-an-icon-update/|title = Maintaining and Restoring an Icon|date = 7 May 2015}}</ref> Many amenities were installed to prepare her for the three-year tour of the country, including water piping throughout, modern toilet and shower facilities, electric lighting to make the interior visible for visitors, and several [[pelorus (instrument)|peloruses]] for ease of navigation.<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 345–349.</ref> {{Convert|40|miles|meters|spell=In}} of rigging was made for ''Constitution'' at Charlestown Navy Yard [[ropewalk]].<ref>{{citation|title=Ropemakers for the Navy: Part II|publisher=USS Constitution Museum    |date=21 October 2016   |url=https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2016/10/21/ropemakers-navy-part-ii/}}</ref>

''Constitution'' recommissioned on 1 July 1931 under the command of Louis J. Gulliver with a crew of 60 officers and sailors, 15 Marines, and a pet monkey named Rosie as their mascot. The tour began at [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], with much celebration and a 21-gun salute, scheduled to visit 90 port cities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. Due to the heavy itinerary, she was towed by the minesweeper {{USS|Grebe|AM-43|2}}. She went as far north as [[Bar Harbor, Maine]], south and into the Gulf of Mexico, then through the [[Panama Canal Zone]], and north again to [[Bellingham, Washington]], on the Pacific Coast. ''Constitution'' returned to her home port of Boston in May 1934 after more than 4.6&nbsp;million people visited her during the three-year tour.<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 349–355.</ref>