Maritime Museum of San Diego facts for kids
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1948 |
|---|---|
| Location | San Diego, California, United States |
| Type | Maritime museum |
| Key holdings | Star of India Berkeley Californian Medea |
| Visitors | 220,000 |
| Public transit access | County Center/Little Italy |
| Nearest car park | Street |
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is a super cool place that keeps a huge collection of old ships safe. It started way back in 1948. You can find it right on the San Diego Bay. The most famous ship there is the Star of India. This amazing iron ship was built in 1863!
The museum also has a special library on the old ferryboat Berkeley, which was built in 1898. The museum is easy to find on North Harbor Drive, near the San Diego International Airport.
Contents
Explore the Museum's Amazing Ships
The Maritime Museum of San Diego has many different kinds of ships. Some are very old, and some are replicas. A replica is a copy of an old ship.
Ships You Can See Today
- Star of India: This ship was built in 1863. It's a merchant bark, which is a type of sailing ship. It's the oldest ship that still sails regularly! It's also the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still floating.
- Berkeley: This ferryboat was built in 1898. It used to carry people across the San Francisco Bay. Now, it's home to the museum's library.
- Californian: This ship is a replica built in 1984. It looks like the 1847 cutter C.W. Lawrence. It's even the official tall ship of California!
- America: This is a 1995 replica of the famous 1851 yacht America. That original yacht won a big race, and the trophy is now called the America's Cup.
- Medea: This fancy steam yacht was built in 1904. It was used in both World War I and World War II!
- Pilot: This boat was built in 1914. It's a harbor pilot boat, which helps guide bigger ships safely into port.
- HMS Surprise: This ship is a replica built in 1970. It looks like a Royal Navy warship. You might have seen it in movies like Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World or Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
- USS Dolphin: This was a special diesel-electric submarine. It was launched in 1968 and stopped being used in 2007.
- PCF-816: This was a fast patrol boat built in 1968. It was used by Malta for a while before being retired.
- San Salvador: This is a replica of a very old ship! It's a copy of the galleon that Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed. His ship was the first European ship to visit San Diego Bay in 1542.
- A railroad barge: There's also a large railroad barge docked behind the Berkeley. It used to carry train tracks and cars. Now, it holds workshops and storage for the museum.
Ships That Used to Be Here
- B-39: This was a Soviet submarine. It was part of the museum for a while. In 2022, it was moved to a scrap yard.
Building the San Salvador Replica
The Maritime Museum of San Diego started building a full-sized replica of the San Salvador in 2011. This was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s famous ship. They wanted it to be exactly like the original and even able to sail!
They built the ship where everyone could watch. This happened at the bayside Spanish Landing Park in San Diego. It was like watching history come alive! The San Salvador was launched in 2015. Now, it's part of the museum's fleet of ships at the San Diego Bay Embarcadero. You can even take tours of it!
Gallery
-
The ferryboat Berkeley, housing the San Diego Maritime Museum and USS Dolphin
-
Overall view of the museum's ships.
-
Star of India.
-
HMS Surprise.
-
B-39.
-
Another picture of B-39
Nearby: USS Midway Museum
Close to the Maritime Museum is another cool place: the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. This museum is separate from the Maritime Museum. Even though they are close, both museums get lots of visitors!
See Also
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships
