After news broke this week that the Tall Ship Providence was suspending operations, a nonprofit aimed at creating a national maritime museum along the Alexandria waterfront has gone public.
Marion Smith, president of the United States Maritime Foundation, told ALXnow the organization has entered into a legal agreement with the property owner at 1 Prince Street and is currently fundraising and looking for a second location for additional programming nearby. He also said the foundation is working to acquire the Tall Ship Providence Foundation’s floating pier, the Tall Ship Providence itself and take over its entire operation at Waterfront Park after signing a memorandum of understanding to do so by 2028.
“When we realized a couple weeks ago that Tall Ship wasn’t going to be able to carry on, we went into a different mode and we are rapidly exploring the possibility of an accelerated timeline,” Smith said. “We would want to continue the educational programming for school groups that use the Tall Ship Providence as a floating classroom.”
Smith said that developments with the Tall Ship Providence Foundation have progressed over the last year.
“We signed an MOU in October of last year, and that charted a path forward for several years,” Smith said. “During that time, the understanding was they would resolve some of their outstanding financial obligations and we would carry on with planning, fundraising, securing real estate. When those two things lined up, we’d go ahead and have an acquisition of the pier.”
Citing economic conditions, the Tall Ship Providence Foundation officially suspended operations on June 26. The Providence is a replica of the first naval warship commissioned by the Continental Congress in 1775. Since 2023, visitors have been welcomed aboard by actors portraying historical figures. Tours are an hour long, with visitors buying tickets for the suggested price of $25.
Kathy Seifert, executive director of the Tall Ship Providence Foundation, said she hopes the merger with the museum happens.
“We’re looking for a Hail Mary,” Seifert said. “We need a couple million to get our feet on the ground to operate, pay bills, start this merger with the museum, which could be a spectacular project for Old Town.”
Smith said the museum will feature an interactive multisensory theater experience, with temperature changes and movement.
“You’ll be able to really experience and feel what it’s like to be on a whaling vessel in the middle of a stormy ocean, or caught in a tall ship battle somewhere in the Caribbean,” Smith said.
Below is the full announcement from the United States Maritime Foundation:
Alexandria has always been a maritime city. From its founding as a working port on the Potomac River to its role in American commerce, naval activity, shipbuilding, trade, and civic life, Alexandria’s waterfront tells an essential part of the American story. Today, we have an extraordinary opportunity to bring that story to life for the nation.
The United States Maritime Foundation is proud to advance the vision for a National Maritime Museum in Alexandria, Virginia – one that will honor America’s maritime heritage, educate future generations, and create a world-class destination on the historic waterfront of the nation’s capital region.
This museum will tell the story of America and the sea: the merchants, shipbuilders, sailors, naval leaders, watermen, explorers, conservationists, and recreational mariners who helped shape our country. It will connect the age of sail to the modern maritime economy, naval service, ocean and wetland conservation, Chesapeake Bay heritage, and the living traditions of boating and life on the water.
There could be no better moment for this project. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, Americans are looking for institutions that remind us who we are, where we came from, and what we can build together. A National Maritime Museum in Alexandria will do exactly that. It will celebrate enterprise, service, discovery, stewardship, and national purpose.
This project is also a major opportunity for Alexandria. It will strengthen the waterfront, support tourism and local businesses, deepen the city’s identity as a historic port, and provide families, students, veterans, visitors, and donors with a meaningful place to encounter America’s maritime legacy.
We invite citizens, civic leaders, businesses, maritime organizations, and educators across the country to join us in making this vision a reality. America is a maritime country. Alexandria is the right place to tell that story for all Americans.
