Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Halifax was the closest major port to the Titanic sinking in 1912, and ships sent from here recovered three hundred and twenty-eight bodies; one hundred and fifty are buried in the city's cemeteries. The museum holds one of the largest collections of wooden Titanic artefacts anywhere, including a deck chair and fragments of panelling. Its other central story is local: on 6 December 1917 a munitions ship collided in the harbour and detonated, killing around two thousand people and flattening the north end in the largest man-made explosion before nuclear weapons. The museum also keeps CSS Acadia, a survey ship afloat since 1913.

History

The museum was founded in 1948 as the Maritime Museum of Canada at HMC Dockyard, the naval base on Halifax Harbour, with naval officers as volunteer chairs until 1959, when Niels Jannasch became its founding director, serving until 1985. After several moves its present building went up in 1981 as part of a waterfront redevelopment, the CSS Acadia, a 180-foot hydrographic survey ship launched in 1913, joined it in 1982, and it is now the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada, with over 30,000 artefacts (Wikipedia, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic).

What's there

• The Titanic artefacts - a deck chair and wooden fragments recovered by Halifax ships.
• The Halifax Explosion gallery - the 1917 blast that levelled the north end.
• CSS Acadia - a 1913 survey ship moored alongside and open to board.
• The small craft collection - Nova Scotia boats and shipbuilding history.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays in winter. CSS Acadia is open in the warmer months only. The waterfront boardwalk outside is pleasant in summer.

Before you go

CSS Acadia is closed for much of the year. The Titanic collection is objects and documents rather than large wreckage. The museum is compact and takes about two hours.

Nearby

Pier 21 lies south along the waterfront; the Public Gardens are inland.

Key facts