Seattle residents, get ready to plan your adventure to charming Astoria!
Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Warnock Building, home of Mariners Hall, opens at 1 PM, November 20 and will offer 24,500 square feet of interactive exhibits. While the space features historic boats and artifacts, a helicopter, and more, the new gallery features the people – and their unique stories – behind each of those things.
“It’s about the human experience, the mariner, hence Mariners Hall,” says Bruce Jones, executive director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum. “We are focused on the people that built these boats and other craft, operated them and maintained them, and how it impacted our community.”
Building and Exhibition Design
The design of Mariners Hall was developed with the architectural team at Opsis, allowing the building and exhibitions to inform one another. The result is four distinctive environments, each offering a different way to experience the Museum’s collection. Rather than seeing these craft as static objects, visitors can appreciate their design, craftsmanship, and the role they played in people’s lives. The changeable displays will also allow new boats and stories to take center stage over time
The Boat House is a double-height space showcasing a changing selection of recreational boats from the Museum’s collection.
At the center of the experience is Mariners Hall, a dramatic two-story gallery containing 10 remarkable vessels, a Coast Guard helicopter suspended high above, and a giant lighthouse lens. The scale of the space allows visitors to see these objects from multiple viewpoints and appreciate details that would be impossible to experience in a traditional gallery.
Stretching the length of the new building is The Bulkhead, a unique two-story installation combining objects, images, and interactive exhibits. The Bulkhead will showcase key pieces from the Museum’s collection, including objects that have never been displayed. It serves as both a stunning architectural feature and a storytelling device.
STEAMworks is unique and a fun, interactive environment for children to explore the meeting of science and water. No other maritime museum has this: a playful, family destination in its own right.
The exhibition design was developed with Storyline Studio, an award-winning exhibition design firm founded by Bill Smith. Storyline’s approach centers on the belief that exhibits should connect with visitors not just intellectually, but emotionally and personally, and their team worked closely with the Museum to capture the vision.
So, when visitors enter the building, the boats and artifacts provide physical evidence of maritime history, the exhibits provide context, the films provide voices, and the building itself creates opportunities for people to experience the objects from unexpected perspectives. Together, these elements invite visitors to immerse themselves in another person’s point of view.
Plan Your Trip
The new Warnock Building opens at 1 PM, November 20, and it’s truly a new way of telling maritime history. So, come and explore the Columbia River Maritime Museum this autumn and learn about the people’s lives that were shaped by the water.
Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life? Just a few hours from Seattle, Astoria is an easy coastal getaway with lots to explore and plenty of scenic views. Peruse the quaint shops, feast on some of the Northwest’s most delicious cuisine, and learn about some of the Columbia River’s amazing history and the voices of those who make it distinct. Learn more and plan your trip today at www.crmm.org.
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