Our Mission
The mission of the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler is to collect, restore, preserve, and interpret artifacts, photographs, art, and writings celebrating all facets of the Maritime Industry, both ashore and afloat. Also, it is to honor the seafaring people and traditions from the early beginnings to modern times, and to operate as a public museum and as a maritime study center inspired by the traditions of the sea.
About The Maritime Industry Museum
A walk through the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler brings with it a vivid presence of seafaring in both bygone years as well as today’s present era. The exquisitely fashioned ship models, historic artifacts, nautical photographs and prints, and the host of corporate banners identifying exhibits of the respective steamship companies they represent, gives visitors a true sense of being at sea with those individuals who experienced life in the maritime industry, whether afloat or ashore.
Touring the museum is like strolling through passages of time. The museum offers one of the largest collections of maritime industry materials in the nation and is displayed chronologically. The main exhibit area located on the second floor is entitled “The Evolution of Seafaring” and encompasses the history of seafaring from the days of sail to present day shipping companies and passenger ship lines.
Exhibits in the area include paintings, models of early sailing vessels, clipper ships, turn-of-the-century vessels up to and including the present day, as well as tools and navigational instruments from bygone days to modern times.
If there is a bona fide case of “labor of love” for a worthwhile endeavor, the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler must be recognized as a prime example. The museum is funded, staffed, operated, and maintained primarily though volunteer support and contributions. Many Maritime College cadets volunteer time to serve as museum tour guides and provide exhibit construction and upkeep, while alumni and members of the museum community participate in periodic “work parties” to do their share.
Museum History
The museum was established in 1986 when Captain Jeffrey W. Monroe, then Associate Professor of Marine Transportation at SUNY Maritime College, had a vision of creating a maritime museum within the halls of historic Fort Schuyler, to provide a nautical atmosphere and resource for the college’s cadets, and a location to display the rich heritage of the maritime industry for the general public.
With the help of Admiral Floyd H. Miller and members of the college’s alumni and student body, The old stone walls of the pre-Civil War fort quickly filled with photographs and paintings of ships, and its passageways flooded with showcases displaying nautical artifacts from the seven seas.
Since its inception, steamship lines, related companies in the maritime industry, and private collectors have donated hundreds of artifacts to supplement the museum’s collection. Today, the Maritime Industry Museum has over 2,000 items on display, and thousands of other items in its archives, which will be preserved for future generations.
Located in Historic Fort Schuyler
The museum is housed in historic Fort Schuyler on the campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, in the Bronx, New York. Four sides of the fort’s irregular pentagon-shaped edifice face Long Island Sound and its juncture with the East River, and housed the heavy guns, which formed the fort’s original armament to protect this strategic waterway. Two of these sides, partially used as classrooms, are principally dedicated to the museum.
Visitors to the museum enter through the fort’s sally port, cross St. Mary’s Pentagon, and enter the center bastion.
Located in Historic Fort Schuyler
The museum is housed in historic Fort Schuyler on the campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, in the Bronx, New York. Four sides of the fort’s irregular pentagon-shaped edifice face Long Island Sound and its juncture with the East River, and housed the heavy guns, which formed the fort’s original armament to protect this strategic waterway. Two of these sides, partially used as classrooms, are principally dedicated to the museum.
Visitors to the museum enter through the fort’s sally port, cross St. Mary’s Pentagon, and enter the center bastion.
Visit The Maritime Industry Museum
Admission and parking are free for all visitors.
6 Pennyfield Ave Bronx, NY 10465
Tel: (718) 409-7218
Fax: (718) 409-6130
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 9am - 4pm
Staff and Board Members
Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler
President – RADM Michael Alfultis
Vice President – Dr. Jennifer Waters, Ph.D.
Staff
Executive Director – Tara Quinn
Curator, Collections, Programming/Events – William Sokol
Administrative Assistant – Linda Roche
Board of Directors
Chairman – John Arntzen
Vice Chairman – Erhard Koehler
Treasurer – Matthew Bonvento
David Allen
Marta Bede
Amie Carter
John DeCruz
Andrew Genn
Bradley Golden
Thomas Hinderhofer
John Ingram
Jill Kehoe – Ex-Officio
Erhard Koehler
Clay Maitland
Gerhardt Muller
Steven Munoz
Marlene Nicolaou-Boyer
Frank Nolan
Nick Orfanidis
Jon Palmbak
Roland Parent
Margaret Stocker
Gerard Thornton