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Location
Parking
City parking available adjacent to museum
Accessibility
Building is not ADA compliant due to historic structure configuration; not wheelchair accessible; most events on second floor with no elevator
Best time
Visit during Revolutionary Summer Saturdays (June 27-September 12) for free outdoor programming with interactive activities like water tables, fishing ponds, and bounce houses—perfect for young children and included with museum admission
About Custom House Maritime Museum
Nautical exhibits in historic quarters. Ship models, artifacts & documents trace the area's history as a seaport in this 1835 building.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Natural History Museum
- Highlights
- Nine galleries of maritime history (10,000 BCE-1975), Children's Discovery Center with STEM focus, ships' figureheads, Revolutionary War artifacts
- Admission
- $8 adults; free kids under 12 and members
- Note
- Historic building not ADA accessible; no elevator
What visitors say
We enjoyed meandering around their three floors of exhibit rooms packed with information, memorabilia and art. The basement is a kids space, though none were there when we went in November but it is probably very busy in summer. Fun,…
What a great time at the Custom House last Saturday from 10-1!! A bouncy house drew my 3 year old grandson in on the back lawn which also had many child appropriate activities. A water table, fishing pond and and air hocket table…
It was the best experience in my life visiting a Maritime Museum. This space is fantastic because you can see different kinds of old fashioned ships. In an immersion visiting a shipping world in the beginning of the foundation of…
From 150 Google reviews
Did You Know?
- The museum occupies a historic 1835 Custom House building that is not ADA compliant due to its historic structure, making it a preserved example of early 19th-century architecture but with accessibility limitations
- Nine galleries span 10,000 BCE to 1975, with one exhibit titled 'First in the Nation: A Victory for Historic Preservation' dedicated to Newburyport's pioneering role in the historic preservation movement
- Children under 12 receive free admission to both the main museum galleries and the Children's Discovery Center, which features interactive STEM maritime learning including an operational lighthouse visitors can enter and operate
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