Here's to Another Forty!

This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the museum's founding. As you can see, we've come a long way from that small store front on Broadway. Today we host a wooden boat building school, and sailing and rowing school, and recently purchased the only commercial 100% solar powered tour boat in operation, Solaris.

It's now time to debut our vision for the future - the Green Museum. In the next two years this campus will start to be transformed. We will be installing solar panels on the Wooden Boat School, upgrading our HVAC systems to run more efficiently, investing in programming on Solaris, updating all of our exhibits to include facts about climate change, integrating climate science education into our educational programming, as well as adding to our extensive collections to include the history of Hudson River commercial fishing.

This vision for our future will help us meet the challenge of climate change, and ensure that the Hudson River Maritime Museum thrives for another 40! Your donation will be matched 3 to 1 from a variety of grants that we have already received in support of this initiative.

Matching Funds

The Green Museum comprises of several grants the Hudson River Maritime Museum has already been awarded. Your generous contribution will be matched by funds ensured by these awards:

Environmental Protection Grant: The Hudson River Maritime Museum will use these funds to improve visitor experience by making walkway improvements, improving energy efficiency, adding solar capacity, improving the museum facade, grounds, and streetscape, and integrating connections to the Kingston Greenway and the Empire State Trail. 

Solaris: Thanks to generous donations from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Scenic Hudson, and an anonymous donor, the Hudson River Maritime Museum was able to secure a loan for the purchase of the first 100% solar powered tour boat with a United States Coast Guard certification for commercial passenger use in the country.

Estuary Grant:  Through an Estuary Grant awarded to the museum from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, we will be able to include aspects of climate change into our permanent exhibits and update our education programs and field trip activities.

Documentary Heritage Program Grant:  This grant includes an advisory committee of area museum professionals who will assist as we work to optimize current archives space, and plan for future collections including expanding the holdings interpreting Hudson River Commercial Fishing. Digitizing of our photographic and print collections is ongoing with the assistance of dedicated volunteers. Finding aids will be created and put online to assist researchers around the world in the study of Hudson River history. A documentary film on the history of fishing will be completed in partnership with Jon Bowermaster. Work done under this grant will form the basis for developing a conceptual plan for the museum’s physical improvements in the future and the transformation of the campus.