Vancouver Maritime Museum

The Vancouver Maritime Museum, as its name suggests, celebrates the maritime history of Vancouver in particular, but it tackles as well the maritime history of the Canadian Arctic.

The museum is located on Ogden Avenue within Vanier Park in the neighbourhood of Kitsilano at the Vancouver waterfront just west of False Creek. It opened in 1959 as part of the commemoration of British Columbia’s centennial celebrations.

The museum’s main building comes striking in its Mid-Century Modern architecture, featuring a stunning A-frame design with bright wood-shingled siding. The structure sports floor-to-ceiling triangular fenestration that offers passers-by a glimpse of the museum’s interior.

The building’s design that came from the drawing boards of C.B.K. Van Norman & Associates, including Australian architect Raymond O. Harrison. Notably, Harrison’s involvement in the museum’s construction inspired him to pursue a career as a museum administrator and director in Canada.

Inside the museum, you’ll find one of the most comprehensive displays of storied maritime history of the Pacific Northwest.

The museum’s centrepiece is the 80-ton St. Roch, a 1928 arctic patrol ship of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The displays in the museum also include exhibits on ever-changing maritime themes, such as prohibition rum running. Water-related topics, such as swimsuit history could also be included in the museum’s changing exhibits.

Galleries of models ships are the other attractions in the museum. Among of the galleries’ head-turners are historic model ships made entirely from paper or cardboard.

One standout among the ship replicas comes in the fine bone model of the French frigate Vengeur du Peuple built sometime in the 1800s by French prisoners of war.

Kids visiting the museum will have fun in Children’s Maritime Discovery Centre where they are provided with maritime activity kits and are provided with a nook for reading and colouring. The museum also lines up an immersive Underwater World for children where they can imagine, explore, create, and learn.

Outside on the museum grounds, the displays include the boiler of the Beaver, the first steamship used in the Pacific Northwest, the NASA undersea research vessel Ben Franklin.

Just a short distance east of the museum is another outdoor attraction, the sculpture titled Gate to the Northwest Passage.

Mr Lawn Installation and Landscaping Vancouver

Continuing our journey to explore notable destinations in Vancouver of British Columbia, let’s now venture into the dynamic and lively community of Museum of Vancouver.