.png)
Houston Maritime Museum Docks in Houston's East End
The Houston Maritime Museum has found a new home in Houston's East End neighborhood, bringing it closer to the Port of Houston and the birthplace of the Bayou City.
The Houston Maritime Museum is in the fundraising stage of a $50 million dollar project to build a new facility near the Port of Houston. Currently, the museum is docked at 2311 Canal Street right beside Andes Cafe, making it a perfect destination for a fun and FREE Saturday visit!
On a recent visit to the Houston Maritime Museum (HMM) we received a one-on-one guided tour of the museum's expansive historical maritime collection. Lucky for us, Saturdays are free admission at the museum and we were hooked up with Milt Rose, a docent whose passion for and knowledge of maritime history was impressive.
Milt stands beside a large model ship of the real-life HMS Victory.
As we learned at the beginning of our tour, the museum's start began with the personal collection of James Manzolillo, a naval architect who traveled extensively during his career and collected many artifacts he eventually made available to the public.
Click to enlarge
Starting with the early Roman cargo ships moving grains and Phoenician purple dye made from sea snails, visitors to the museum will learn how the combination of human curiosity and trade enabled the discovery of lands by way of sea exploration. Of course, models of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria are included in the collection. However, Mr.Rose's presentation of Columbus' very well-known story was told as a journey made partly by errors in navigation.
In fact, as we moved through the collection, Mr. Rose explained that in a time when there was no way to measure longitude, and the only point of reference for sea navigators was the sky, the discovery of new lands and people were made often as a result of errors in navigation. That's right folks! Even Australia was discovered by accident by the Dutch in the 1600s when the Dutch East India Company missed their turn up toward Asia after sailing too far east, running right into the Australian coast line.
My favorite part: The museum boasts a section focused on the Port of Houston and its origins at Harrisburg, as well as the birth of our beloved city. As an alumnus of the former Harrisburg High School (a.k.a. Milby High School) I was proud to see this particular part of the exhibit.
The museum will be at its current location until the new facility is fully funded and constructed, so be sure to take advantage of its proximity to the East End and drop by for a FREE Saturday tour. And if you stop by, be sure to tag @wander.through on Instagram!
Museum Hours
Tuesday-Saturday 9-5 PM
Museum Prices:
FREE on Saturdays
Ages 13 and up: $8.00
Children 3 to 12: $5.00
Seniors: $5.00
Children 2 and under: Free
Active Duty Military: Free*
Veterans: Free
Members: Free​
Have you visited the museum? If so, what did you enjoy the most?
Let me know in the comments!