Following months of negotiations between Peter Aron, President of the South Street Seaport Foundation, and President John Maxtone-Grahan, the trustees of the Museum have voted unanimously to transfer the collection to South Street Seaport.

The collection will be removed from the Ocean Liner Museum’s storage facility on the west side and established within the South Street archives some time this coming November. Every Ocean Liner Museum membership renewal or application received during the calendar year 2002 has been deposited within an escrow account and will shortly be refunded and returned to the individuals concerned. One of the many advantages resulting from this transaction is that all current members of the Ocean Liner Museum will be granted a year’s complimentary South Street Seaport membership.

The move makes eminent good sense for both organizations. It has become apparent to the OLM board that their two-decade quest for a permanent Manhattan home had produced a variety of promising leads but no tangible resolution. More recently, following installation of the magnificent Der Scutt Collection within the newly renovated Walter Lord Gallery at South Street Seaport, the Ocean Liner Museum board also realized that this exciting new venue would serve as an ideal and appropriate Manhattan focus for the continuing study and preservation of ocean liners. Moreover, South Street boasts the curatorial and archival support facilities of an established museum, admirably suited to both the Ocean Liner Museum’s mission and its collection.

In fact, though the transaction rings down the curtain on 20 years of enterprising operation, it also serves as overture to an exciting and promising consolidation of ocean liner expertise. Members of both organizations are the ultimate beneficiaries.

The Ocean Liner Museum was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the history and preservation of passenger vessels. The Ocean Liner Museum does not yet have a permanent home but mounts exhibitions periodically at different venues in the city of New York.

Recent exhibitions have included:

• Dazzle & Drab: Ocean Liners at War at the Seamen’s Church Institute
• Blue Ribband: The Quest for Speed Across the North Atlantic at the New Federal Court House
• Ships of State at the PaineWebber Galleries
• The Great Liners at South Street Seaport
• Cunard Sesquicentennial: 150 Transatlantic Years at the Forbes Galleries
• Hommage au Normandie at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy

Effective October 1, 2002, those interested in Ocean Liners should contact South Street Seaport Museum for information and membership details.