The Independence Seaport Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Museum document maritime history and culture along the Delaware River. At the museum are two National Historic Landmark ships and the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library.
History
In 1961, maritime collector J. Welles Henderson felt that Philadelphia's maritime history had been forgotten, and was frustrated that his city lacked a maritime museum like those in New England. To rectify this issue, he rented space in the Athenaeum on Washington Square to open the Philadelphia Maritime Museum. Initially the museum housed his personal collection of maritime items. In 1974, the museum moved to 321 Chestnut Street, into a building built in 1898 for the First National Bank. In 1995, the museum moved to Penn's Landing along the Delaware River, after spending $15 million to renovate a building used by the Port of History Museum, which had closed two years earlier. It was renamed the Independence Seaport Museum.
In June 2007, former Independence Seaport Museum president John S. Carter pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and tax evasion from misappropriating about US$2.5 million in funds from the museum. He received a 15-year sentence in federal prison. Carter, who was president of the museum from 1989 to March 2006, was accused of using money from the museum to buy numerous personal items, including two boats, an espresso machine, and a carriage house for his home in Cape Cod between 1997 and 2006.
In February 2010, museum officials announced that the cruiser needed $10 to $20 million for hull repairs to prevent her from sinking and would consider transferring her to a new steward. The Seaport Museum held a preservation summit in March 2011, and shortly thereafter announced that qualified interested organizations could apply for stewardship of Olympia through a transfer application process vetted by a review panel of historic ship and preservation experts. In 2014 the museum announced that it had cancelled plans to seek a new steward and instead would focus its efforts on raising the funds necessary to repair the Ship. In 2014 the museum received $6 million in funding from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital program, which covered a portion of the repairs. Over the next several years, the museum was awarded grants from private donors, as well as, federal and state agencies to help cover the preservation costs. In 2017, the Independence Seaport Museum completed the first phase of renovations to the Ship and is working to raise the funds necessary to tow the vessel to a dry-dock facility so that its hull can be repaired.
In April 2011, John Brady was named the Seaport Museum's President & CEO. Brady was formerly the longtime director of the Workshop on the Water, the museum's boat shop specializing in the building and restoration of traditional wooden boats. In June 2015, the museum nearly doubled its endowment after receiving four large donations totaling nearly $13.9 million to help fund museum programs, exhibitions, and the restoration to the two historic ships. In January 2016, the Independence Seaport Museum was given a grant of over $1 million by the William Penn Foundation to fund environmental and clean water programs, as well as, exhibitions, and renovations to the dock. In 2017, the Independence Seaport Museum received a grant of $2.6 million from William Penn Foundation to support the River Alive exhibition.
Current exhibits
World War I USS Olympia
In June 2017 the museum opened an exhibit to commemorate the World War I centennial. The World War I USS Olympia exhibit highlights the ship's humanitarian and peace-keeping role in World War I Europe. The exhibit also explores the everyday life of sailors aboard the ship, as well as, Olympias final mission of transporting the remains of the Unknown Soldier from France to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.
Patriots and Pirates
In April 2016 the Independence Seaport Museum opened a new exhibit which focuses on Philadelphia and the founding of the United States Navy. As the name suggests, Patriots and Pirates, examines the conflict between pirates and the United States, and features a full-size, waterline model of Diligence of 1797. Some notable artifacts in the exhibit include a rare 1793 letter from an American taken hostage by pirates, Captain John Barry's octant, and a model of the Federal St. Navy Yard recreating Joshua Humphreys' 18th century shipyard.
