The South Street Seaport is a New York location of great cultural significance. It is located in the Manhattan borough of New York City, and neighbors the popular financial district. The South Street Seaport is home to some of the oldest architecture in the city, and is also home to some of the oldest buildings in the city.
Many of the buildings have been restored, but were originally built in the early 19th century, and are still in use to this day. The location is known for its excellent sightseeing opportunities and has a particularly good view of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The South Street Seaport Museum got its start in 1967. The original creators of the museum were Peter and Norma Stanford. Their original plan was to create the museum as a historical site that commemorates the working conditions of the early years of New York City as the seaport, mostly from 1820 to 1860. In 1998, Congress ruled the South Street Seaport museum to be one of a number of different museums, which, in combination are “America’s National Maritime Museum.” Many of the pieces contained inside of the museum were actually used during the heyday of the South Street Seaport, and have been restored. It is home to over 30,000 square feet of space that is used for exhibitions and educational conferences. It is also home to the world’s largest collection of privately owned historic ships.
Some of the more popular ships include the oldest in their possession, the Pioneer, a schooner from 1885 and the Ambrose, which was a 1908 lightship. The most recent ship that they have in their collection is the Marion M, which was a used in 1932 as a chandlery lighter.
Because the ships have been restored, during optimal weather, they are used to take the public out into the water, and get a feel for how the boats handled when they were used, and how exactly they operated.
Although the South Street Seaport never had a huge role in the economy of New York, it has always been one of the more popular locations for tourists and sightseers. There is so much history, and so much information contained within the museum. They were able to put together a huge collection of historic ships, documents, and tools that were used to help bring items into the port throughout the 19th century. The museum was not taken seriously as a tourist attraction until 1982, when renovation and redevelopment began on the site. During the redevelopment, they added a number of modern shopping areas and night life attractions to convince tourists to come down to the location and see what it had to offer. The location is reachable from a number of New York City bus routes, and can also be reached via water taxi.
The South Street Seaport may not have played all that big a role in the development of the city, but it has become an iconic location for historic information and preservation.
