South Street Seaport Museum

"The South Street Seaport Museum is an amazing cultural institution, and an absolute “must visit” attraction of Manhattan, New York. Located in Manhattan’s South Street Historic District, the museum was founded in 1967, and does a wonderful job on preserving and showcasing the history of New York as a major world port city. It contains an impressive collection of artwork, artifacts, galleries, and a fleet of historic ships. In August of 2024, I brought and treated my wife and myself for a visit of the South Street Seaport Museum and we both thoroughly enjoyed our time there!!! During our tour, we learned that the South Street Seaport played an integral role on New York’s maritime activities in the 18th and 19th centuries by serving as bustling hub and trading port, and connecting New York to the global market. The museum’s numerous exhibits feature images of sailers docking their ships at the South Street seaport, unloading their cargo and trading with local businessmen and merchants. The prolific amount of trade that trade that occurred at the South Street seaport would undoubtedly transform New York to a major commercial and maritime center, and contribute to its economic development. In addition to the exhibits, my wife and I also had the pleasure of seeing and visiting the museum’s historic vessels. We had fun exploring the “Wavetree” an iron-hulled three-masted full-rigged cargo ship that was built in England in 1885, and had successfully sailed around the globe at least three times. When visiting the Wavetree, we were able to view and takes pictures of the ship’s numerous sections ranging from the quarterdeck (where the ship’s steering wheel is located), the saloon (which likely served as the captain’s living room), and the ship’s vast cargo hold. The highlight of our visit to the South Street Museum was our guided tour and ride on the Tugboat W.O. Decker. This ship dates back to 1930 and is considered to be New York’s last surviving wooden tugboat. Both my wife and I found this ride to be quite exhilarating because we loved the boat’s rapid sail on New York Harbor, and enjoyed the spectacular views of New York’s major attractions ranging from the One World Trade Center, the Statue Of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Brooklyn Bridge. The ship’s crew also did a great job on briefly discussing the history of the Tugboat W.O. Decker, other historic vessels, and the rich and storied legacy of the New York’s maritime heritage. Both my wife and I would love to thank the South Street Seaport Museum for providing us with a very delightful and educational experience, and highly recommended for everyone to visit and explore this outstanding institution!!!"

"Great experience at the south street seaport museum! Pay as you wish, no prior reservations required. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend checking it out to learn about the history of the area!"

"Very nice little musuem, I mainly went for the boat tour. Was kinda upset that I couldn't go on my own and had to wait for half hourly tours... but was very nice."

"A delightful, free, experience. Short and informative. The visit around the ship is included and that makes it worthwhile. The exhibition is limited but I learned a fair bit. There was a small tribute to Eric Carle in an annexe. The ship has good information panels and it is fun to walk around below decks and above."

"Love this place! Usually has a nice crowd of people, but because of COVID it was almost empty. But still a nice place to come for leisure, admire the two old ships that are docked here. They have two nearby restaurants where you can sit and eat outside. But this place is a very historic part of New York City. You should definitely stop here when you are in New York City."