South Street Seaport Museum - New York City, NY

Address:12 Fulton St.
New York, New York
Tel: (212) 748-8590

Once serving as a world port where goods, labor, and cultures were exchanged, South Street Seaport encompasses a plethora of sea & seaport history critical to New York's economic rise and development. With over 30,000 square feet and the largest concentration of restored early 19th century buildings, the South Street Seaport Museum's galleries, library, and conservation lab are sure to take you on quite the voyage.

The museum's collection includes thousands of historical items from every major ship that's set sail on the world's oceans. There are over 1,000 ship models and an extensive collection of maritime paintings by renowned American artists such as James Edward Buttersworth, Antonio Nicolo, Gasparo Jacobsen, Duncan McFarlane, and John Rubens Smith.

The museum houses historic ships in the port such as the 1885 schooner "Pioneer", built of iron and the only American merchant iron-hulled ship still in existence. See the "Marion M", built in 1932 which marked the end of an era as the last wooden-hulled chandlery lighter used in the New York Harbor. The "Marion M", purchased by the museum in 2000, is maintained in operating condition, as a working vessel supporting the other ships in the museum's fleet, and as a floating exhibit. There are numerous old ships, and most can be rented for private affairs or tours on the river.

The South Street Seaport Museum houses exhibits such as "Monarchs of the Sea", an extensive collection of photographs and pieces from the world's most exclusive ocean liners, evoking the majesty of a time when these ships were the ultimate in luxury travel. Be sure not to miss the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, located at the entrance to the Historic Seaport District serving as a memorial to the passengers, officers and crew who died as heroes when the steamship Titanic sank after collision with an iceberg on April 15, 1912 and stands as a true testament to the glory of sea travel.

The South Street Seaport Museum is located within the Historic Seaport District and can be reached by taking trains 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, or M to Fulton Street; A and C to Broadway-Nassau, and then walking east on Fulton Street to Water Street.

When you visit the South Street Seaport Museum, the exhibits in our galleries and on our historic ships are just the beginning of a fantastic voyage back in time. The museum is located on the site of what was once this country's leading port and is now a twelve-square-block historic district in lower Manhattan. South Street provides visitors with an unforgettable glimpse into a past where 18th- and 19th-century buildings line stone-paved streets; sea-laden breezes waft off the river.