I made a special trip to Beach Haven, NJ recently to visit the NJ Maritime Museum which had gotten some interesting write ups online. The museum covers many aspects of the maritime history of Long Beach Island and the surrounding Jersey Shore and the State of New Jersey.
The NJ Maritime Museum at 528 Dock Road in Beach Haven, NJ.
Each of the rooms are packed with pictures, artifacts and explanations of all the events. The front room has a lot of information of ship wrecks, both local and from all over the state.
The Front Galleries of the NJ Maritime Museum.
There is a large story board of the 1916 Shark attacks that inspired the book and movie, “Jaws” including the clippings from the paper and pictures of the cemetery where the victims were buried. It was a very detailed display of the incident.
The front section of the museum has the display of the “Morro Castle” fire.
In the back room of the first floor the room is dedicated to the 1934 “Morro Castle” luxury liner disaster where incompetence from the crew and staff lead to the burning of the ocean liner on its way back from Havana to New York at the height of the Depression and twenty years after the Titanic Disaster. The displays included menus, artifacts from the ship, witness accounts and a movie on the disaster being shown in a loop.
The Morro Castle Fire exhibition.
Natural disasters are covered as well with storms that have reeked havoc to the Jersey Shore over the last hundred years including the recent Hurricane Sandy which was the perfect storm. The pictures show the disaster that have hit Long Beach Island and the rebuilding over the years.
The history of Diving exhibition on the second floor.
There is a lot of local history with pictures of the all the luxury resorts that used to be on the island and its role in the development of the area as an early resort town through the railroads as well as the history of the local “Women’s Surf Fishing Club” and pictures of the club members over the years.
The second floor galleries.
The second floor is dedicated to the local Coast Guard history and rooms full of artifacts from local shipwrecks and the history of the local maritime history and fishing industry.
The Andrea Dora exhibition on the second floor.
The New Jersey Maritime history is in full display here
For such a small museum, the museum is packed with all sorts of interesting information on the New Jersey Shore line.
The History of the NJ Maritime Museum:
On a 1983 episode of the television program “Prime Time”, Jim O’Brien did a segment on New Jersey Shipwreck Diving, interviewing Bob Yates and Deb Whitecraft. During that interview, Deb spoke of her quest for knowledge about different wrecks and New Jersey maritime disasters. She also stated that she had started collecting this information and other items pertaining to New Jersey Maritime History and that she hope to one day have a place to display her collection. On July, 3rd, 2007, Deb’s lifelong ambition came to fruition when the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History opened its doors.
In the years between the program and the museum opening, Deb actively pursued her quest, working with other New Jersey maritime historians and amassing a sizable collection of shipwreck files and artifacts. This collection comprised almost all of the museum’s material when it opened. In the years since it opened, the museum has grown at amazing rate, thanks to the donations and loans from the diving community and the public in general.
The second floor galleries.
Although the museum was built entirely with private funds, it is now a registered non-profit entity and deed restricted to remain so. It operates entirely on donations and is staffed by a small group of dedicated volunteers. The museum is open all year long, Friday through Sunday in the off-season and seven days a week during the summer.
(NJ Maritime Website History)
The NJ Maritime Museum Mission:
The Museum of New Jersey Maritime History Inc. is a museum and research facility organized exclusively for educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The corporation’s educational purposes include, among other things, providing a facility for the public display of historic maritime artifacts, books and documents. The display of such collections, preserved and exhibited under professional museum standards will encourage maritime research and promote the education of the public about New Jersey’s rich maritime history.
The Kingston Hudson River Maritime Museum 50 Roundout Landing
I recently visited the Hudson River Maritime Museum after a boat cruise around the Hudson River and I found this wonderful little under-rated museum to packed with information not just about the history of the Hudson River Valley but the rich history of boating and boat building, the economic impact of the area in mining, brick building, ice manufacturing and cement development.
The Tug Boat display
It was interesting to see how the natural wonders of the area have given the rise to so much development in not just building the area but its long lasting contribution to New York City. This was not just in industry but in the pleasure and shipping boat industries as well.
The Ferry display
One part of the museum is dedicated to transportation up and down the river with sailing and steamboats in the forefront especially how the luxury steamboat industry went full force until about 60 years ago. It was considered the nicest form of transportation to and from New York City. It was interesting how the modern train and car lead to the demise of something that today would be embraced as unique and fun. The pleasure steamboat industry continued on until 1971.
The leisure ferry industry down the Hudson River
Another part of the museum was dedicated to the history and development of the area from the Native American tribes living along the shore and the Dutch settlements to the rise of modern development of manufacturing along the shores to its after effects and clean up in the 1960’s and 70’s. These included fishing, ice manufacturing and brick making.
The Ice Industry on the Hudson River
There were really nice displays on the ship building, sail companies and maritime industries that supported them. The manufacture of raw materials and building supplies because of the natural resources of the Hudson River Valley show how rich in minerals, clay, cement and stone from the cliffs built New York City and how they nearly destroyed nature.
The Brick industry in the Hudson River Valley
The displays tell the stories of activists who saved the area, Robber Barons that exploited it and the everyday people who contributed to making the valley the interesting place that it is today. It showed how protests and free speech saved the Valley from devastating development.
The Alexander Hamilton Ferry ride down the Hudson River
With each room at the museum, there is a story to tell and pictures to explain why the Hudson River Valley and the Kingston Roundout is such an interesting place to see. Outside you can find an example of the Tug Boat industry
The Tug Boat “Mathilda” on the museum grounds
The tugboat display by the riverfront
Take time to guide through the rooms and read the signs and stories. There is a lot to see and do here and make sure to leave plenty of time to walk the grounds and see the tug boat and sailing displays and walk the river front. There is even a display of ships models to explore. It makes for an interesting afternoon.
The ‘Ship Models’ display
History of the Hudson River Maritime Museum
(This information was taken from the Museum’s website and pamphlet)
Hudson River Maritime Museum
The Hudson River Maritime is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries and related industries.
Ship building was very important in the region
The Hudson River Maritime Museum was founded in 1980 to preserve the history and maritime heritage of the Hudson River. Our collections range from steamboats, tugboats and sailboats to the canal system and waterfront industries, dating back to the early 19th Century.
The ferry display
The museum has a library and archives open to researches by appointment. Some of our collections have been digitized and are available online at http://www.hrvh.org/hrmmkingston.
Passenger steam boats, Hudson River rowing, ferries, ecology and conservation, ice boats, tugboats, fishing, ice harvesting, brick making, early exploration, cement production, lighthouses and more. HRMM features a new temporary exhibit every year. Information on exhibits, including online exhibits is available at hrmm.org.
The ‘Cabin Room’ display
Some of the attributes of the museum:
Wooden Boat School:
The Wooden Boat School was opened by the Hudson River Maritime Museum to preserve the rich boat building heritage of the Hudson River Valley. Wooden boat building occurred on Roundout Creek in particular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries including World War I & II and the Korean War.
The ‘Hudson River Weather’ display
Today, the Wooden Boat School offers adult classes, Youth boat program for teens and serves as the headquarters for the Sailing & Rowing School, Sea Scouts Ship 609 and the Kingston Sailing Club.
Kingston Home Port:
A timber framed carbon neutral structure, the Kingston Home Port and Education Center was completed in 2012 to serve as the winter home port and maintenance center for HHRM partner the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater during the winter season. During the summer months, the Home Port serves as an event, lecture and educational space for the museum.
The ‘Steamboat Captain’ display
The Kingston Home Port also functions as the main operational headquarters for the Roundout Rowing Club and the Kingston High School Crew Team.
The ‘Erie Canal’ display
The ‘Erie Canal’ display
The Hudson River Maritime Museum (HRMM) features a variety of programs and events throughout the year including:
*Lighthouse Tours
*Local History tours, including guided walking and car tours.
*Woodworking, maritime art and boat building classes at the Wooden Boat School
*Sailing, boating and rowing classes at the Sailing & Rowing School
Fee: Adults $22.00/Seniors (over 65) $14.00/Current Students with ID $13.00/Free to Members and Children under 12 accompanied by a parent. Free on Friday Nights from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Discount for people with disabilities $13.00-Caregiver Free.
What I love about the Morgan Library & Museum is the level of sophistication and quality of their exhibitions. The museum really makes you think when you tour their galleries and attend their lectures and gallery talks. Their docents and curators bring an exhibition to a whole new level. I always feel like I am taking a college course and will be graded afterwards. They really make you think about the work or what the author or artist is trying to say.
Two of my favorite exhibitions were the “150th Anniversary Celebration of Alice in Wonderland”, which is why I joined the Morgan Library & Museum. I loved the novel and I wanted to get some ideas for our library’s own celebration. They had the original manuscript written by Lewis Carroll, some original prints and memorabilia from various times including posters, books, artwork and decorative items.
The entrance to the “Alice in Wonderland” exhibition
Another wonderful and interesting exhibition was on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” which was a celebration of her life, her works and of the novel through the ages in both context of the novel and in Hollywood. There were various copies of the books in the exhibition as well as the history of the author’s life.
The Frankenstein print
The exhibition showed the clips of the original silent version of the film, the 1931 version with Boris Karloff and the modern version “Young Frankenstein” with Gene Wilder from 1974. I learned from the exhibition that the set used in the 1974 version of the film was from the original 1931 film and it had been in the director’s basement all those years.
The entrance to “It’s Alive: Frankenstein at 200” exhibition at the museum
Another exhibition that was very interesting was the recent American artist Al Taylor with an showing of his drawings. The works were unusual but really stood out was his time in Hawaii and the drawings that inspired him.
Duck Bondage Study by Al Taylor
Untitled by Al Taylor
American artist Al Taylor
A YouTube video on the “David Hockney” Exhibition:
The recent David Hockney Exhibition that I missed.
I rejoined the museum after a long COVID absence and the first exhibition that I attended was the “Beatrix Potter” exhibition on her work on Peter Rabbit. It had many of the early drawings of her children’s books as well as some of her merchandising. The exhibition discusses her life before and after her books were published and then her second act as a farmer and conservationist.
The “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” exhibition in April 2024:
Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature
The entrance to the gallery
The gallery opening
Here work included the initial drawings to the actual books.
Her early gift cards One of her original pieces.The main part of the exhibition.
The gallery of the exhibition
The exhibition is broken into two parts. The first part is on her early life in London with her family and her personal life as a child and an early adult. The second half of the exhibition is on her early books, manuscripts and letters. Then her later life as a ‘gentle farmer’ who ended up preserving and donation over 4000 acres of Lake District land for later generations to enjoy.
These are the original drawings for the book “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”
The original cardThe original card
Other pieces of her works.
Some of the original drawings.
Some letters that she wrote to friends.
All the wonderful novelty items that she helped create. She had a real hand in merchandising way before this became the norm in publishing. She created all the cards, stuffed animals and small books that would become her collection.
Some of her original books.The original Peter Cottontail book.The original drawing from the exhibition.
The stuffed animal of Jeremiah Puddle Duck
The sign as you enter the exhibition.
The end of the exhibition with the author holding one of her pets.
The other exhibition that I saw that day which will be closing soon is the Walton Ford exhibition. Mr. Ford’s works are a reflection on his relationship with nature with works being influenced by trips to the American Museum of Natural History. His works draw from nature.
I recently visited for the “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg” exhibition on a private Members Night and it was an interesting look at his life and how his career progressed until his untimely death at an early age.
The entrance to the exhibition in March of 2026
The Mozart family picture in the exhibition of the artist’s work
(From the Morgan Museum website):
The exhibition focuses on the two family chapters of Mozart’s life: his youth with his father, Leopold, and sister Nannerl in Salzburg, and his adult life with his wife, Constanze, in Vienna. After Mozart’s death in 1791, Nannerl and Constanze returned to Salzburg, where they, with the composer’s two sons, preserved and built his legacy. Their collection became the foundation of the modern-day Mozarteum (Morgan Library).
The ceiling display at the exhibit
Evoking the cities, homes, and people that shaped the composer, the exhibition highlights Mozart’s many travels, continual quest for employment and renown, family tensions, and constant creative output amid frequent illness and other challenges. It also illustrates Mozart’s existence under aristocratic patronage, a context both foreign and familiar to modern viewers (Morgan Library).
It is nice to walk among the permanent collection of prints in the lower level and to visit the former private areas of Mr. Morgan’s home. It adds to who he was as a financier and as a homeowner. The home was not as elaborate as you would have thought.
The private part of the museum
I also enjoy the Morgan Cafe on the main level of the museum in the courtyard area of the first floor. The food is a little pricey and a limited menu but the service is wonderful and the quality of the food is very good. You will enjoy the meal and I have heard from other patrons that the Afternoon Tea is very nice as well.
They also have a Dining Room in the Library area that I have heard is very nice as well.
The Morgan Dining Room
They have a nice selection of books, cards and gifts in their Gift Shop just beyond The Morgan Dining Room. I really like their selections at the holidays and their theme books to the exhibitions especially for the “Alice in Wonderland” exhibition.
The Morgan Library giftshop
It is a nice place to take a gallery talk, then a light lunch in the main hall and then a lecture at night. It’s a great way to spend the day.
The History of the Morgan Library & Museum:
(from the Morgan Library & Museum website)
The Museum is a complex of buildings in the heart of New York City and began as the private library of financier Pierpont Morgan, one of the preeminent collectors and cultural benefactors in the United States. As early as 1890, Mr. Morgan had begun to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary and historical manuscripts, early printed books and old master drawings and prints.
Mr. Morgan’s library was built between 1902 and 1906 adjacent to his New York residence at Madison Avenue and 36th Street. Designed by Charles McKim of the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, the library was intended as something more than a repository of rare materials. Majestic in appearance yet intimate in scale, the structure was to reflect the nature and stature of its holdings.
The side view of the Morgan Library
The result was an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo with three magnificent rooms epitomizing America’s Age of Elegance. Completed three years before McKim’s death, it is considered by many to be his masterpiece. In 1924, eleven years after Mr. Morgan’s passing, his son, J.P. Morgan Jr., known as Jack, realized that the library had become too important to remain in private hands. It what constituted one of the most momentous cultural gifts in the United States history. He fulfilled his father’s dream of making the library and its treasures available to scholars and the public alike by transforming it into a public institution.
Mr. Morgan’s private areas are part of the museum
Over the years, through purchases and generous gifts, The Morgan Library & Museum has continued to acquire rare materials as well as important music manuscripts, early children’s books, Americana and materials from the twentieth century. Without loosing its decidedly domestic feeling, the Morgan also has expanded its physical space considerably.
The Middle Eastern exhibit in the Library.
In 1928, the Annex building was erected on the corner of Madison Avenue and 36th Street, replacing Pierpont Morgan’s residence. The Annex connected to the original McKim library by means of a gallery. In 1988, Jack Morgan’s former residence, a mid-nineteenth century brownstone on Madison Avenue and 37th Street was added to the complex. The 1991 garden court was constructed as a means to unite the various elements of the Morgan campus.
JP Morgan II home which is now part of the Morgan Library.
The largest expansion in the Morgan’s history, adding 75,000 sq ft to the campus was completed in 2006. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano, the project increases exhibition space by more than fifty percent and adds more important visitor amenities, including a new performance hall, a welcoming entrance on Madison Avenue, a new cafe and a new restaurant, a shop, a new reading room and collections storage. Piano’s design integrates the Morgan’s three historical buildings with three new modestly scaled steel and glass pavilions. A soaring central court connects the buildings and serves as a gathering place for visitors in the spirit of an Italian piazza.
The Morgan Library & Museum expansion by Renzo Piano
The Morgan Library & Museum Mission:
The mission of The Morgan Library & Museum is to preserve, build, study, present and interpret a collection of extraordinary quality, in order to stimulate enjoyment, excite the imagination, advance learning and nurture creativity.
The Dorothea Maria Gsell painting “Heron Encircled by a Snake with a worm in his Bill”
A global institution, focused on the European and American traditions, the Morgan houses one of the world’s foremost collections of manuscripts, rare books, music, drawings and ancient and other works of art. These holdings, which represent the legacy of Pierpont Morgan and numerous later benefactors, comprise a unique and dynamic record of civilization as well as an incomparable repository of ideas and of the creative process.
(From the Morgan Library & Museum website and history)
The Prospect Park Zoo is one of my ‘go to’ places along with the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden when visiting Brooklyn. The three popular destinations are all in the same neighborhood and if you have a full day is worth the subway ride from Manhattan to visit.
On a nice day, the best place to start is the Brooklyn Botanical Garden at opening, then head over through the back part of the garden to Prospect Park and walk to the entrance near Flatbush Avenue and go past the carousel and enter the Zoo past the old Leffert’s Homestead. The Zoo is just past that.
The best part of the Prospect Park Zoo is that like the Central Park Zoo it is small enough to see in one day and be able to enjoy the exhibitions in one afternoon and still have time for lunch.
The Map of the Zoo
The Zoo has gone through a lot of improvements since COVID and reopened. There is a unique sculpture garden when you walk inside.
The Prospect Park Zoo Sculpture Garden at the entrance
Fish Sculptures at the entrance
The sculptures at the entrance of the zoo by artist Mags Harries
Artist Mags Harries is an Wales born artist who graduated the Leicester College of Art with a Diploma in Art and Design and Illinois University, Carbondale with a Master of Fine Arts. She is known for her creative sculptures and their use in enhancing public spaces (Artist bio/Tufts.edu).
The main focus of the zoo when you walk through the gates is the seal tanks. These playful animals spend most of their time swimming around or sunning themselves on a warm day. During the feeding schedule, it is interesting to see how they interact with the trainers.
The Seal Tanks at the entrance of the Zoo
The Seal tanks when you walk in are very active
Walking further into the zoo you will walk past the Hall of Animals, where all the smaller animals and amphibians like frogs, snakes and turtles are located. These are a lot of fun for the smaller children who may not see these things in their backyards or even in the parks anymore.
The rare Longnecked Turtle in the Small Animals exhibition
The Fish tank at the Small Animals exhibition
The catfish in the Fish Tank at the Small Animals exhibition
I went to the Bird Cages and saw a Kookaburra bird from Australia. He looked at me like I looked at him. He had the most inquisitive look on his face.
The Kookaburra looking at me
The Kookaburra looking around the cage
The Victorian Pigeons with their beautiful colors and feathers
The tropical hornbill birds
As I sat down to rest after visiting both the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a peacock walked past me looking for food. It must be very used to humans because he just ignored me and kept on walking.
The peacock at the zoo just does his own thing
Beyond that is the Barn, where your horses and cows are located and they even have a pair of turkeys, which makes for interesting conversation for children who wonder where they come from at Thanksgiving. The turkeys here are more bred than the wild ones you will see in the woods. They also have sheep, pigs and lambs that you can feed.
The gardens leading to the Barn area
The gardens leading to the Barn area
The different barnyard animals were in the process of being feed and taken care of by their trainers. If you put food in front of them though, they cam running. The kids were having a ball feeding them snacks.
The Barn pens at the zoo
Lambs and calf’s in the Barnyard at the zoo
The lambs hoping they would be fed by the visitors
The friendly lamb in the pens
The sheep at the barnyard
The animal sculptures just outside the Barnyard display
Next to the Hall of Animals is the Animal Lifestyle exhibition where a lot of the gorillas and monkeys are located. It is funny to watch their mannerisms and see ourselves and out behaviors in them. I guess a couple of thousand years never really separated us that much and we still are a lot alike.
The Baboons at the Hall of Animals
From there you will take the Discovery Trail to see more familiar animals that you might see in every day nature such as deer, foxes, porcupines, ducks and geese in a more natural habitat where they can roam free. The space is limited but they look a lot happy to move around than some of the other animals.
The swans on the Discovery Trail
The swans on the trail
All trails lead back to the Seal Tanks where the popular feeding time gathers a crowd and you will see the care that many of the trainers and zoo keepers give to their residents. There is a lot of love for these animals that is given and I can see a lot of respect.
Relaxing by the Seal Tanks
I got to sit and relax by the Seal Tanks and just enjoy the afternoon. The landscaping around the main Seal Tanks were in full bloom. I also never noticed the statuary around the pool.
The landscaped stairs leading to the zoo from the main road
‘Lioness and Cubs’ by French sculptor Victor Peter
Artist Victor Peter is a French born artist known for his realistic sculptures.
A trip to the snack shop and gift shops at the zoo are expensive and cater to the tourists. They are not as nicely merchandised as the Bronx Zoo or the Central Park Zoo. Still they are fun to visit once or twice.
The Prospect Park Zoo is still a nice afternoon out for families and a nice way to communicate with nature.
The History of the Prospect Park Zoo:
The Prospect Park Zoo is a 12 acre zoo located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn and as of 2016 houses 864 animals. The zoo was originally part of the plan of Prospect Park as a “Zoological Garden” in the western part of the park. The zoo was not part of the finished plan in the park in 1874 by designers Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
The original zoo layout
The park design included a Wild Fowl Pond in the northern part of the park that was stop off for water birds and a Deer Paddock in the southern part of the zoo where deer lived in a penned area.
In the 1890’s, gardens were created for park enjoyment and a informal Menagerie was created by the Brooklyn Parks Commission, George V. Brower, when the donation of small bear, white deer, seven seals, a cow and twelve peacocks came into the possession of the park.
In 1934, Parks Department head Robert Moses set a plan to reconstruct the City’s Parks and under the Works Progress Administration started to revamp the park system. In March of that year architect Aymar Embury II set to design the new zoo with six new buildings and centered by a Seal Pool.
By the 1970’s, the zoo faced disrepair and was neglect for the animals. It was considered one of the worst zoo’s in the country according to the press and finally in 1980, the Koch Administration signed a 50 year agreement with the NY Zoological Society, now called the Wildlife Conservation Society, which was also administrating the Central Park and Queens Zoo.
The park closed in 1988 for a five year, 37 million dollar renovation that gutted all the pits and cages but saved the historic buildings and statuary. The new zoo opened in 1993 with a new name, “The Prospect Park Wildlife Conservation Center” and a philosophy of educating children. The zoo along with the Queens Zoo have had some shortfalls in the past but have the full support of the Society and the public since the early 2000’s. Still the zoo remains popular with families from all over Brooklyn and the world.
The main view of the zoo
(This information is provided by Wiki and the Wildlife Conservatory website and I give them both full credit for the information)
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 