Visiting the Museum
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Welcome to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum! Located in the Santa Barbara Harbor, the museum's structure was formerly known as the Old Naval Reserve Center, which was built by the Federal Government's Works Project Administration (WPA) program during the late 1930s through early 1940s. In 1942, the City of Santa Barbara sold the Naval Reserve Center for $1 to the Federal Government to support the war effort.

The facility was used as a U.S. Navy training facility from 1942 until 1995, when the U.S. Navy moved out of the building. It was sold back to the City of Santa Barbara and in 1999, construction began inside the building for the new Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

The Museum opened its doors to the public on July 29, 2000. Today the Maritime Museum continues to grow, adding new permanent exhibits every two years while offering a wide variety of traveling exhibitions set inside of nearly 8,000 square feet of Museum space. The Maritime Museum also offers a wide range of educational programs, including docent tours, summer camps, and overnight stays aboard the Tall Ship Spirit of Dana Point. Admission also includes a series of films shown daily in our large screen, high-definition Munger Theater.

The Museum is open every day (except Wednesdays and major holidays) from 10am-6pm (Memorial Day to Labor Day), otherwise it's 10am-5pm. Lecture information, and details relating to programs, events, theater showings, and facility rental guidelines are all available upon request by calling our administrative offices at (805) 962-8404 or by email at marketing@sbmm.org.

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