Our Story
I like to imagine Fulton and South Streets in 1812 when Peter Schermerhorn completed the 12 buildings that comprise Schermerhorn Row, when people came from all over New York to marvel at this row of Federal-style warehouses on the East River. In those days the piers were crowded with ships from all over the world discharging their cargoes of coffee, tea, cotton, molasses, and countless other trade goods upon the piers of South Street. The trade represented by these ships and the counting-houses, hotels, and warehouses of the South Street Seaport is the very trade that built the growing New York City and through it the United States of America.
In the late 1960s, visionary preservationists set aside a collection of entire city blocks in the South Street Seaport district as an area worthy of care and attention. These blocks of early- to mid- nineteenth century buildings, coupled with a series of piers crowded with historic ships would tell the vital story of the formation and growth of New York, a city built on—and because of—its deep natural harbor and its connection through the Erie Canal to the inner states and territories of the new nation.
Today, more than two hundred years after Schermerhorn Row was completed, New York is a very different place. The Row is no longer the largest building in the city; it is dwarfed in fact by the surrounding financial district. The piers are no longer crowded with ships, but that same deep-water harbor is seeing a renaissance of education, of commercial and ferry service, of oyster aquaculture, and of attention from New Yorkers.
Indeed, now more than ever the story of the formation of New York—the story of a city built on its waterways—is critical to our city. This is not a dry history, but a living tale of growth, of sacrifice, and of opportunity. The story and its reverberations play out in the education programs aboard our schooners PIONEER and LETTIE G. HOWARD. They are carried in the hearts of the scores of volunteers who work regularly and without pay to preserve our tug W.O. DECKER and the mighty square-riggers PEKING and WAVERTREE. They burn brightly in the lamps of the lightship AMBROSE.
Although Hurricane Sandy is behind us, the challenges we face are still daunting. However the very same spirit that led Schermerhorn and others to build, to grow, and to prosper in early New York will once again carry the day. For here we have a Museum, not of artifacts and buildings and ships, though we have those. Not of interpretive signs, galleries, and stories, though those abound as well. Here we have a museum of the people. A museum that thrives as the beating heart of the historic South Street Seaport district.
Welcome to South Street Seaport Museum. Our dedicated staff and volunteers (who are educators, sailors, preservationists, and some of the finest humans on the planet) are ready to welcome you aboard our ships and into our galleries and shops. We work together toward the next successful chapter of our “little museum that could.” Please join us for a visit, join as a member, and join the ranks of the proud volunteers who take a firsthand role in the preservation of old New York and the building of new New York.
I look forward to seeing you soon at South Street.
Captain Jonathan Boulware
Executive Director
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The passing of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II leaves behind a rich legacy of 70 years of leadership, and among her many connections that will be long remembered is her connection to ocean liners that bear her blessing and serve with the same dignity and grace she showed the world throughout her long reign.
While still Princess Elizabeth, the future monarch launched Cunard White Star Line’s RMS Caronia in October 1947. The ship was one of the first built for both transatlantic ocean liner crossings as well as luxury passenger cruise travel. As such, the vessel introduced new features to attract new passengers, including an outdoor swimming pool and private bathroom facilities for every cabin.
On December 30, 1967, Queen Elizabeth II named the Cunard Line vessel that also bears her name, Queen Elizabeth 2. The ship, however, is not directly named for the monarch Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary), but is actually the second vessel in Cunard Line to be named for her mother, at the time the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth.
In January 2004, Queen Elizabeth II christened another Cunard vessel, Queen Mary 2, which today remains a renown ocean liner sailing anywhere in the world. Named for Mary of Teck, consort to King George V, the Queen Mary 2 is the second liner in Cunard’s history to bear the royal name. The first, Queen Mary, served the line from 1936 to 1967.
While there will be no future ocean liners or cruise ships christened by the beloved monarch, each of these vessels honors Queen Elizabeth II in its own way with excellent service, dignity, and grace, part of the legacy this remarkable woman has left to the world.
Welcome, Danmark! On the occasion of the Danish tall training ship visiting South Street, (docking in a few hours!) our Director of Collections dove into our archives and special collections to learn more about her many visits to New York City over the decades for our Collections Chronicles blog. She found exciting material covering Danmark, including this image of our own of Pioneer welcoming her in New York Harbor in April of 1974.
Danmark is the first of many more visiting vessels returning to South Street, continuing to bring people to the waterways while capturing the imagination, forging connections, and serving as a platform for discussing contemporary topics and opportunities tied to our oceans. With visits like these, New York Harbor remains an inspiration for an ever-evolving tradition.
Read our latest blog entry titled “Celebrating Sail: Danmark’s Visit and Centuries of Ship Demonstrations” at seaportmuseum.org/celebrating-sail and come down to the north side of Pier 17 to see this incredible ship, learn more about Denmark’s long maritime history as well as contemporary sustainability issues during Climate Week NYC 2022 (September 19–25).
Image: “Pioneer welcoming Danmark” April 1974. South Street Seaport Museum Archives.
Today is the first day of , a month celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of those in the United States whose ancestors came from Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The histories of Latino and Latinas in America are diverse. They include the experiences of people with cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions from Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, among other nations from Latin America and Iberia. It is impossible to tell the experiences of these various groups with a single history. Some arrived in the United States as immigrants or refugees, while others trace their ancestry to Spanish-speaking or indigenous peoples living in North America long before the establishment of the United States. The breadth of Latino/a experience is a vital aspect of America's rich and diverse past.
Chile is one of many South American nations that has maritime ties to New York City, and it is also connected to the Museum’s 1885 tall-ship Wavertree. After Wavertree was dismasted in a storm off Cape Horn in 1910, she was converted into a floating warehouse off Punta Arenas.
On Sunday, September 18, the Museum will throw a Fonda on board Wavertree with traditional Chilean food, dance, and music celebrating Chilean Independence Day with Fiestas Patrias. This free event is from 12:00-2:00pm, with no registration required. Learn more about it at seaportmuseum.org/fiestas-patrias
Image: “Port of Call Flag, Chile”, 20th century. Gift of Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. 1976.008.0009
Come sailing in the autumn breeze! The September wind produces exceptional sailing weather, and the views are just stunning. Bring aboard an afternoon snack or dinner, beverages or a bottle of wine, and don’t forget your sweater. Sailing in September is breathtaking but can be chilly.
The sailing schedule is:
Wednesday: 6:30pm
Thursday: 6:30pm
Friday: 6:30pm
Saturday: 1pm, 4pm, 6:30pm
Sunday: 1pm, 4pm
And remember: tickets to sail on Pioneer include Museum admission. Make it a day down at the Seaport!
So, what are you waiting for? Get your tickets before the season is over at seaportmuseum.org/pioneer
Photo credit Gabriel Ellison-Scowcroft
from Climate Group runs September 19-25, 2022, bringing together the most influential leaders in climate action from business, government, and the climate community, in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly and the City of New York. Climate Week NYC creates an ambitious platform to drive climate action. At the Seaport Museum, we’re kicking off the week by making paper on the cobblestones in front of the Bowne & Co., at 211 Water Street, on Saturday, September 17, 12-2pm.
Led by Rob Wilson, Bowne & Co.’s Art Director and Operations Manager, this free, family-friendly workshop will teach you how to create sustainable materials for your own future art project. Stop in and spend the afternoon learning with us. No registration needed. Visit seaportmuseum.org/paper-making for more information.
Today we join our neighbors at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and all across New York City and the world, in honoring the memory of those who were lost in the 9/11 attacks, reflecting on the World Trade Center tragedy, and remembering how New Yorkers came together to help one another heal and rebuild.
For the 20th Anniversary last year, the Seaport Museum lit up some of our facades in sky blue as part of “Tribute in Lights,” which served as a unique but simple gesture of collective remembrance that illuminates the city each year on the evening of September 11. This year we’re resharing this image of Wavertree in blue, as we remember the iconic presence of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York Harbor.
On today’s , let’s look at a ferry of the turn of the 20th century: C.W. Morse.
C. W. Morse was a steel-hulled steamship built for the People’s Line of Albany in 1903. She was a luxurious ship that commuted passengers between New York City and Albany and was often described as a “regular floating palace.” Her entrance was characterized by a richly finished lobby or reception hall, with a mahogany stairway that led up to the dining saloon with a seating capacity of 300 people, as seen in this postcard. The ferry was also equipped with electric thermostat, fire alarms, automatic whistles, watchman's clock, telephones for special service, and when auxiliaries were not run by steam, electric motors were put in use.
Passengers on this ship would have mailed back these postcards noting that this was the ship they traveled on like this message: "Dear Geo, / Mr & Mrs Hill / Harold, Dad & I are having / our supper on / this boat, what do you think of this / Momma."
In the fall of 1917, the C.W. Morse was acquired by the Federal Government and taken to the Brooklyn Navy Yard where she was used for housing navy recruits. At the close of the war she was returned to her old route. In 1923 she was renamed the “Fort Orange” and continued in regular service until 1927 when she fell into disuse until she was partially broken up in 1935.
This Saturday, September 10 at 6pm aboard Wavertree join us for “History and Heroism,” a conversation with historian and author Jessica DuLong and Manhattan Borough historian Robert Snyder about the complexities of how historians, artists, and the public define “heroes.”
Inspired by DuLong’s writing, we will examine how choosing to emphasize heroic acts might “include more people in the circle of those who see themselves as helpers capable of heroism.” The panelists’ personal experiences surrounding the tragic events of 9/11 will serve as the catalyst for a thoughtful discussion. To register for this free event, visit seaportmuseum.org/history-and-heroism
in 1939 Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. shot this aerial photo of the West Side piers of Manhattan. The main protagonists of this photograph are the ships docked around the West Side Elevated Highway, from bottom of photo to top: two French liners SS Champlain and SS Normandie, the British RMS Queen Mary, and the Italian SS Roma.
In 2018 we acquired a series of aerial photographs by Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. to assist the Museum in studying and celebrating New York’s natural harbor, the development of the Port of New York as the primary commercial and passenger gate to America, and the relations of it with the rest of the world in the mid-20th century. The collection consists of almost 300 black and white aerial photographs taken by Fairchild Aerial Surveys in the first half of the 20th century, depicting ships in and around New York Harbor, including barges, lightships, tankers, ferries, tugboats, floating drydocks, magnificent ocean liners, and Hudson River excursion vessels. Explore more of our outstanding Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. Photography Collection for free on our Collections Online Portal at seaportmuseum.org/collectionsonline
Image: Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc., photographers. “Champlain, Normandie, Queen Marie, and Roma in Dock” September 6, 1939. Gift from an anonymous donor 2018.008.0188
