Maritime Museum Of San Diego Model Gallery Exhibit
Ship Model Gallery & Adjacent Passageway Enhance Visitor Experience
Features Model Making Legends, Exquisite Representations, Illustrations, Maritime Fine Art
SAN DIEGO, CA – Maritime Museum of San Diego, serving as the community memory of our seafaring experience by collecting, preserving, and presenting our rich maritime heritage and historic connections with the Pacific world, announces the opening of their newest exhibit, The Maritime Museum of San Diego Model Gallery: Celebrating the Art of the Model Maker, located in a newly created visitor annex on the aft-end of the 1898 Victorian-era steam ferryboat Berkeley. With hundreds of models now on display throughout the spaces on its vessels, the Maritime Museum of San Diego has arguably become one of the premier locations to view and appreciate ship models on the West Coast of the United States.
According to Raymond Ashley, Ph.D., K.C.I., President/CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, “Typically models have been used within the museum’s exhibits to elaborate or exemplify a specific theme or narrative, such as the Charting the Sea, or San Diego Navy displays. The new adjacent Model Gallery hallway departs from this by primarily being a celebration of the art of model making rather than being tied to any specific story. The models serve both as three-dimensional illustrations to the narratives told both through the Museum’s historic vessel collection and within exhibit galleries that add life and depth to their stories and also as celebrations of maritime art in their own right.”
Dr. Ashley shares how the new Model Gallery came to be. “Despite occasional closures and reopening throughout the last 18 months, and reduced staffing, one aspect of museum life has continued almost unabated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing desire on the part of the general public, community partners and Museum members prevailed. We saw continued support for the Maritime Museum of San Diego mission through the donation of books, artifacts, and documents. Of particular note in the last two years are the number of significant donations of museum quality ship models. These now grace our new Model Gallery exhibit space on the ferryboat Berkeley which employs models as examples of fine art and as engaging illustrations of our common seafaring heritage.” The Maritime Museum of San Diego’s new Model Gallery was made possible by the support of Jennie and Michael Hite and a fleet of generous donors and volunteers.
The Model Gallery exhibit is included with general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the Museum Ticket Booth or online.
Click Here to view the Model Gallery exhibits page.
Located at Star of India Wharf, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is located in downtown San Diego on the north embarcadero at 1492 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-3309.
About the Maritime Museum of San Diego
The Maritime Museum of San Diego experience includes admission to a world-class collection of historic sailing ships, steam-powered boats, and submarine, each offering entertaining and educational exhibits. The 501c3 non-profit Museum enjoys an international reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining, and operating historic vessels including the world’s oldest active sailing ship, Star of India. Maritime Museum of San Diego is ranked as one of the nation’s top attractions offering self-guided tours, docent guided-group tours, tall ship charters, year round public events, educational programs, and a distinctive venue for corporate/private events. The Museum is open daily along Star of India Wharf at 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-3309.