Page Updated: November 09, 2023
Key West Shipwreck Museum
Key West Shipwreck Museum - Key West FL
The Key West Shipwreck Museum takes visitors on a historical maritime journey of the region and is the perfect place to learn of the nautical heritage of Key West. Full of recovered artifacts; the museum educates visitors on old pirates, shipwrecks, wreckers, discoveries, and recoveries. A phenomenal “must see” stop!
Entry to the Key West Shipwreck Museum - which, in fact, does resemble a ship - begins below sea level in a stinky old cistern once used to hatch lobsters. Two continuously running pumps prevent the room from being filled with seawater. I found the whole concept incredibly cool - and not just because it was hot outside!
Multiple floors contain recovered treasure everywhere you look. Everything from black glass bottles, dishware, weaponry, and ship salvage itself, to coins, jewelry, and ivory tusks.
Doors to the Lookout Tower are located on the second level and lead to several exterior flights of stairs to reach the top. Views come complete with excellent scenes from the Gulf of Mexico.
We’re likely partial since we appreciate history and all things ship, but we cannot say enough great things about this museum. From the 15min video in the entry cistern to the easy to follow self-guided experience throughout, this was an intriguing stop for us and we highly recommend tacking it on to any Key West adventure.
-b&b
Key West Lighthouse
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