Independence Seaport Museum
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and the Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
. It is located in the Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing is the waterfront area of the Center City along the Delaware River section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682, along the now paved over Dock Creek, after landing first in New...
complex along the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
in Philadelphia. The museum was founded in 1961 by J. Welles Henderson and has dozens of exhibits including the warship USS Olympia
USS Olympia (C-6)
USS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after...
and the submarine USS Becuna
USS Becuna (SS-319)
USS Becuna , a Balao-class submarine, is a former ship of the United States Navy named for the becuna, a pike-like fish of Europe.-World War II:...
.
History
The museum was founded in 1961 as the Philadelphia Maritime Museum by J. Welles Henderson. The museum consisted of Henderson's own personal collection and was housed in a rented room in the Athenaeum on Washington SquareWashington Square (Philadelphia)
Washington Square, originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's Southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. It is part of both the Washington Square West...
. Henderson founded the museum because he felt that Philadelphia's maritime history
Maritime history
Maritime history is the study of human activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant...
had been forgotten, and was frustrated that there wasn't a maritime museum
Maritime museum
A maritime museum is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water...
in the city like many cities in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
had.
The museum later moved to Third and Chestnut Streets, and then moved again to Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing is the waterfront area of the Center City along the Delaware River section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682, along the now paved over Dock Creek, after landing first in New...
along the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. The museum moved to its current location at Penn's Landing in 1995, when it was renamed the Independence Seaport Museum.
In June 2007 former Independence Seaport Museum president John S. Carter pleaded guilty to charges of fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and tax evasion
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
from misappropriating approximately US$2.5 million in funds from the museum. He received a fifteen 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
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
between 1997 and 2006.
Exhibits
Ship model
Ship models or model ships are scale representations of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people....
s, and full-sized boats in the permanent and interactive exhibitions. The exhibits focus on the Port of Philadelphia
Port of Philadelphia
The Port of Philadelphia, within the municipal boundaries of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is located near the navigable end of the Delaware River, south of New York City and north of Washington, D.C...
, trade, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, and deep sea submersibles. There are two historic ships displayed near the museum. They are the USS Olympia
USS Olympia (C-6)
USS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after...
, one of the United States' first steel warships, and the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
submarine USS Becuna
USS Becuna (SS-319)
USS Becuna , a Balao-class submarine, is a former ship of the United States Navy named for the becuna, a pike-like fish of Europe.-World War II:...
.
See also
- MoshuluMoshuluMoshulu is a four-masted steel barque built by William Hamilton on the River Clyde in Scotland in 1904, and currently a floating restaurant docked in Penn's Landing, Philadelphia. -History:...
- GazelaGazelaGazela is a 1901 wooden tall-ship homeported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She serves as the maritime goodwill ambassador for the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Ports of Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey...
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of museum ships