Mariners Hall Set to Open This Month at Astoria Maritime Museum
The Tollycraft Boating Club was recently invited to preview the new Warnock building, home to Mariners Hall at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria.
Our Rear Commodore John Salle and Treasurer Mick Haggerty represented the Tollyclub. Here is a sneak peek at what members can expect when the doors officially open later this month.
On the Scene at Mariners Hall (John Salle)
The Columbia River Maritime Museum constructed this new exhibition and education hall spanning over 24,500 square feet. It features interactive displays centered on hundreds of artifacts and boats previously kept in storage. Guests will see historical objects up close and, in some cases, step aboard vessels never before shown to the public.
We met with museum curator Jeff Smith and toured this beautiful new building and its exhibits, including the dedicated space for Tollycraft.
When entering Mariners Hall, visitors are welcomed into an exhibit area called the Boat House. Here, a 1953 17.5-foot Tollycraft named Beaver will be housed. It is currently going through its final preparations and was not yet on display, but it will be ready in time for the opening.
Beaver is the first boat you see when entering the building. An information placard along the rail and a lighted display will offer details about Beaver and Tollycraft, alongside the other nearby boats.
In the near future, this display may also feature the Tollycraft videos digitized this past year. For now, those videos are available to watch on YouTube.
Additionally, the museum plans to establish an archive to make the donated Tollycraft historical materials accessible on demand.
The public opening is scheduled for Friday, November 20. The museum welcomes about 120,000 guests annually. This is a beautiful and impressive facility, and if you are in the area, be sure to stop in and pay a visit.
Since I represented the club at this point in the project, I want to acknowledge longtime Tollycraft owner Mike Sarin who serves on the museum’s board of trustees. Along with Scott Fultz, Past Commodore Greg Gustafson, and many others, he has worked hard to preserve Tollycraft’s place within the museum. We owe them all a big thank you.
