55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Y2
613 542-2261
The “White Hurricane” of November 1913 was the worst marine disaster in Great Lakes history. Many ships were lost or destroyed and hundreds of sailors died. Other Great Storms have ravaged the Lakes before and since, but none quite like it, so far.
This new special exhibit marks the anniversary of the tragedy honouring those lost, but also looking at what has, and hasn’t, changed in the century since. Are we prepared for another Hundred Year Storm today?
The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston was honoured and excited to recently receive the personal drawings and files of noted Canadian boat builder and designer George Hinterhoeller for inclusion in the Yachting Collection at the marine Museum.
George Hinterhoeller was a major player and contributor to the Canadian Sailboat Industry for almost forty years. Along with the other members of C&C Yachts he too was inducted (posthumously) into the Legends of Ontario Sailing in 2011. Being able to include George Hinterhoeller’s own drawings of his own designs, as well as corporate files from Hinterhoeller Yachts to the already extensive Yachting Collection of the Marine Museum is a major coup. Full story is here.
The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston was founded in 1975. Located on 55 Ontario St. at the only federally built dry dock on the Great Lakes, the Marine Museum houses the original pumping station and steam engines built in 1891.
The Museum has on display a wide ranging collection of marine artifacts and exhibits, a significant fine art collection, and is home to the Gordon C. Shaw Study Centre, and Audrey Rushbrook Memorial Library. Current exhibits highlight the growth of ship building and shipping technologies, the history of boat building, the life of the sailor, as well as regional Kingston's maritime history and our place on the Great Lakes. The recently opened Eco Gallery focuses on environmental issues/successes related to the Great Lakes.
The Museum Ship Alexander Henry was built in 1959. A former buoy tender and light icebreaker for the Canadian Coast Guard, the Alexander Henry is a fine example of shipbuilding from the last century. With its twenty ton crane, block and tackle, hydraulic ram and other functional machinery, visiting students can learn first hand about this purpose built structure, and about ice breaking in Canadian waters. The ship is available for tours from May - October, weather permitting.
In The News: Marine Museum of The Great Lakes (Kingston, Ontario) - by Alex Binkley, Canadian Sailings Magazine
Funds are used to support the New Age of Sail exhibit to open in 2014. Please click on the button and select Fund Designation.
The Marine Museum was featured in a February 2013 article in Canadian Sailings, written by Alex Binkley.