Columbia River Maritime Museum facts for kids
View from southwest in 2012
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| Established | Association: 1962 Museum: 1963 |
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| Location | Astoria, Oregon, U.S. |
| Type | Maritime museum |
| Collection size | 30,000 objects |
| Visitors | Approx. 100,000 (annually) |
The Columbia River Maritime Museum is a cool place to learn about the history of boats and the sea! It's located in Astoria, Oregon, right near where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. This museum is super important because it's the official state maritime museum for Oregon. It's known all over the country for its amazing exhibits and huge collection of items. The museum first opened its doors in August 1963. It was in the old Astoria City Hall building back then. Later, in 1982, it moved to its current spot right on the waterfront.
Contents
Discover the Museum's Story
The idea for the Columbia River Maritime Museum started in 1962. A commercial artist named Rolf Klep, who loved collecting old marine items, helped create the museum association. They raised money from the public to buy the Old Astoria City Hall building. This building became the first home for the new museum. The museum officially opened to visitors in August 1963.
Moving to the Waterfront
In the early 1970s, people started raising money again. The museum needed a bigger space! The plan was to build a new museum right on the waterfront. This new location would let the museum be close to historic ships, like the Lightship Columbia, that were docked in Astoria. Building the new museum began in May 1975. It cost about $2.75 million. The museum finally moved to its new waterfront home in May 1982. The new building offered much more space for all the growing collections.
Big Changes in 2002
The museum celebrated its 40th birthday in 2002. At the same time, it finished a huge remodeling and expansion project. This project cost $6 million! The renovation made the exhibit space much larger. Now, visitors can enjoy interactive exhibits. You can even experience what it's like to steer a tugboat. Or, you can join a Coast Guard rescue mission on the dangerous Columbia River Bar. Huge windows in the museum let you see the Columbia River outside. This makes the river a living background for the exhibits. Many exhibits also include interviews with people who were part of the events shown.
Explore Amazing Collections
The Columbia River Maritime Museum collects and displays many items. These items show the maritime history of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. The museum has over 30,000 objects! It also has 20,000 photographs and a research library with 10,000 books.
Here are some of the cool things you can see:
- The bridge from the WWII Destroyer USS Knapp
- A 44-foot U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboat, the 44300
- A 36-foot U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboat
- The 32-foot troller boat Darle
- Two gillnetter vessels (boats used for fishing with nets)
- The Lightship Columbia, WLV-604
- The Sai-shou Maru, a boat from Japan. It crossed the Pacific Ocean all by itself! This happened after it was washed away during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
- The Bar Pilot boat, Peacock
- A Third order Fresnel Lens (a special type of lighthouse lens)
The museum's collections include boat models and real, full-size boats. You can also see paintings, figureheads (carved figures from the front of old ships), and all kinds of tools. There are also uniforms, weapons, and instruments used in commercial, private, and military sea operations. An introductory film called The Great River of the West shows the brave bar pilots. They guide ships safely across the dangerous Columbia River Bar.
Barbey Maritime Center: Hands-On Learning
A newer part of the museum is the Barbey Maritime Center for Research and Industry. It opened in January 2013. This center is located in the old Astoria Railroad Depot. That's a former train station about 600 feet east of the main museum. The building was built in 1925 for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. Passenger trains used it regularly until 1952.
The railroad company later gave the brick building to the maritime museum in 1987. The city's Historic Landmarks Commission said it was a historic building in 1988. However, the building wasn't used much for many years. By 2011, it was in bad shape. It even had some small earthquake damage in 2001. In 2011, plans began to fix it up and use it. Work started in June 2012. They made it accessible for everyone and fixed it to be safer in earthquakes. They also restored the old doors and windows.
The museum uses part of the building for building boats. Clatsop Community College also uses it for classes about historic preservation. The Barbey Maritime Center had a special opening ceremony on January 25, 2013. This center focuses on boat-building and its local history. It's open every day for visitors. They offer different classes and demonstrations, including actual boat building! The center is named after the Barbey family. They were important pioneers in the local fish packing industry. They also ran the last fish cannery in Astoria.
See also
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships
