Exhibit Openings ~ Heritage League of Pierce County

Foss Waterway Seaport - “Wheels, Whistles and Wonder: the Extraordinary Maritime Collection of Bill Somers”

Closes January 2012

The display showcases about a quarter of the 1,500 exquisite pieces acquired last fall by the Seaport from the largest known private collection of maritime artifacts related to Puget Sound’s history.

You’ll hear the sounds and see the sights and classic beauty of Puget Sound's historic "Mosquito Fleet" with live music reminiscent of the steamboat era, food, docents presenting "then and now" interpretations of maritime artifacts, storytellers reenacting characters from the glory days of steamboats, and children's hands-on activities.

Foss Waterway Seaport is located at 705 Dock Street on downtown Tacoma’s waterfront in the historic building where Tall Ships were loaded with the region’s products bound for global ports. Today the Seaport showcases Puget Sound’s premier maritime heritage, education, and recreation center where students and the community learn about marine and environmental science issues, maritime‐related activities, and the colorful history of Tacoma’s working waterfront. Learn more at www.fosswaterwayseaport.org, or call (253) 272-2750, ext. 100.

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Harbor History Museum 2012 Temporary Exhibits

January 28, 2012 -- March 16, 2012
Going Places, A traveling exhibit from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH on the Road) & Mid-America Arts Alliance

Carriages — not cars — once ruled the road. These forerunners of automobiles and trucks were absolutely essential to American life in the 1800s. Carriages came in an amazing assortment of sizes, shapes, and finishes, from the buckboard phaeton to the sidebar buggy to the booby hut. Going Places explores the culture, evolution, and eventual demise of horse-drawn transportation from the early nineteenth century, through the industrial revolution, and into the 1900s and the dawn of the automobile age. Along the way, diverse artifacts—including a full-sized pony surrey, harness and tack, and assorted carriage accessories—speak volumes about our insatiable desire for travel, speed, and new technology.
Going Places also covers a broad range of questions: How were carriages sold and who could afford them? How did they function within America’s larger transportation network? What factors led to their eventual demise? The answers are surprising, and frequent parallels to today’s car culture make Going Places a fascinating journey.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS. VISIT: www.harborhistorymuseum.org

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