The Jacksonville Maritime Museum (JMM) – which became known as the Jacksonville Maritime Heritage Center – told the maritime history of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, United States, and the

First Coast Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...

through its connection to the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Its collection included large scale models of ships from to present day vessels, as well as paintings, photographs and artifacts dating to 1562.Chapin, Veronica

Florida Times-Union, May 27, 1998-Maritime museum on Web

History

The Jacksonville Maritime Heritage Center began as the Jacksonville Maritime Museum in 1987 and was operated by the ''Jacksonville Maritime Museum Society, Inc.'', a non-profit, 501(c) organization#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) organization. Its goal was to provide a resource that illustrated the local impact of maritime trade and the many aspects of the maritime environment. The

Jacksonville Landing The Jacksonville Landing (informally The Landing) was a festival marketplace in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, at the intersection of Independent Drive and Laura Street, along the Jacksonville Riverwalk.Jacksonville Riverwalk, near Friendship Fountain. It remained there for nearly 18 years until it returned to the Jacksonville Landing and reopened in January 2011 for a lower monthly rent. The new location was on the ground floor, east side, and accommodated the display of more items. Ship models that were loaned out for display at other places were returned to the Jacksonville Maritime Heritage Center. The space included an interactive children's display and a theatre with seating for 60. USS Louisville (CA-28) visiting Australia, 2 February 1938

USS Louisville (CA-28) visiting Australia, 2 February 1938

Dissolution

At the society's board of directors meeting in August 2015, they voted to dissolve the museum at the end of the calendar year. The museum received no financial support from the

city government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

, and memberships and donations were not enough to cover the $45,000 budget of the volunteer-run non-profit.

Collection

The museum housed hundreds of artifacts and included permanent exhibits on the aircraft carrier and Napoleon B. Broward’s ''Three Friends Tugboat''. Popular exhibits included St. Johns

Riverboats A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

Shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other 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 befo ...

in Jacksonville and the diorama. The largest model formerly on display in the museum was that of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

U. S. Navy

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

, . The model was loaned to Jacksonville by its builder, Ray Arthur, then given to the Frazier Museum after the museum declared it surplus to its needs.

References

External links

Official website
(Archive copy of homepage from November 17, 2014) {{authority control Museums in Jacksonville, Florida Defunct museums in Florida Maritime museums in Florida Non-profit organizations based in Jacksonville, Florida Downtown Jacksonville 1985 establishments in Florida Museums established in 1985 2015 disestablishments in Florida Museums disestablished in 2015