Mariners' Museum
The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, is the largest maritime museum in North America and one of the largest in the world.
History
Archer M. Huntington founded the museum in 1932. He was the son of railroad builder Collis P. Huntington, of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway brought to Warwick County, Virginia in the late 19th century, and the city of Newport News, the local Kohlepiere and the shipyard Newport News Shipbuilding founded.
Archer and his wife, sculptor Anna H. Huntington, acquired an area of 320 acres of land where 5,700 m² of exhibition space created, to an academic library, a 68 acre lake and an eight -mile coastal path with fourteen bridges. The area should provide space for more than 35,000 maritime artifacts from around the world. In the first two years after purchase, the couple was devoted to the creation and development of a natural park and the construction of a dam. This provided for the creation of Lake Maury, which is named after a native of Virginia oceanographer Matthew F. Maury.
Collection
The museum's collection includes approximately 32,000 artifacts, divided evenly into works of art and three-dimensional objects. The collection consists of pieces from around the world and includes miniature ship models, scrimshaw, maritime paintings, handicrafts, carved figureheads, functional steam engines and a unique scratch - steam organ. In addition, the museum has an important collection of paintings and drawings by the marine painter James Bard and Antonio Jacobsen. The museum also offers educational programs for all ages, a scientific library with archives, as well as publications and Internet resources for teachers.
Model of the steamboat Commonwealth ( 1864 )
Dugout canoe from Ghana ( 2004)
Gold coin, about 1361-1369, to commemorate the Battle of Sluis
USS Monitor Center
The Mariners' Museum is home to the USS Monitor Center. In 1973, the wreck of the armored USS Monitor, which gained fame in 1862 by the Battle of Hampton Roads during the Civil War, to be located on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean 26 kilometers southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The location of the wreck was declared the first national marine sanctuary in the United States. The Sanctuary monitor is the only all thirteen national marine sanctuaries, which was created for the protection of cultural property rather than to conservation.
The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is now under the supervision of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Many artifacts from Monitor, including its innovative turret, as well as propeller, anchor, engine and some personal belongings of the crew were housed in the museum. For stabilization of the metal they were kept for several years in special containers. The new USS Monitor Center officially opened on 9 March 2007. Seen since then is a 1:1 replica of the monitor, the original salvaged turret and many artifacts and related items. Current efforts are focused on the restoration of the engine.
Dahlgrenkanone
Souvenir shop