Maritime Museum of British Columbia

• Maritime Museum of BC
• MMBC

• Provincial/state

The Maritime Museum of BC opened in 1955 as a naval museum located on Signal Hill just outside the gates of the HMC Dockyard in Esquimalt. By 1965, the Museum had outgrown the original location and found a new home in the former Supreme Court building in Bastion Square − the oldest surviving courthouse in the province. In 2014, the Museum got news from the Government of British Columbia that the provincially-owned historic courthouse was in need of major repairs that require the building to be empty. The Museum has since relocated to a new public storefront location at 634 Humboldt St., where we have our exhibits, public research space, and a gift shop. The majority of our collections are now stored off-site but are still accessible through our research request program.

The Maritime Museum of BC represents a rich and vast link to the province’s legal and nautical roots. It is also home to three significant sailboats − Dorothy, Trekka and Tilikum − each with their own incredible story of adventure and enchantment.

The Museum cares for more than 35,000 unique artifacts, in excess of 40,000 historical photographs and an internationally recognized chart collection. As well, the Museum delivers popular educational outreach programs geared to children and seniors featuring topics such as immigration, pirates and privateers, women at sea, and the fur trade.

Mission: To promote and preserve our maritime experience and heritage and to engage people with this ongoing story.

Vision: To be the leading interpreter and presenter of BC’s on-going maritime story, by celebrating the nautical culture and heritage of British Columbia.