The Museum Announces the Grand Opening of Mystic Seaport Museum: At the Drawbridge
A pop up shop in the heart of downtown Mystic
Mystic, Conn. (June 6, 2024) – Mystic Seaport Museum is excited to announce the opening of Mystic Seaport Museum: At the Drawbridge, a new pop-up location in the heart of downtown Mystic, Connecticut. At the Drawbridge is located on the corner of E. Main and Cottrell Streets in a shared space with the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.
The Museum will be staffing the location daily Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. to welcome visitors and provide information about the Museum.
At the Drawbridge visitors will also be able to purchase:
- General admission tickets to the Museum
- Tickets for a daily Sabino sunset cruise departing at 5:30 p.m.
- Tickets for river tours aboard Mystic Seaport Express, a shuttle service enabling visitors to easily travel from downtown to the Museum. Tickets for Mystic Seaport Express include Museum admission.*
- Limited edition retail products, including a 2024 summer time capsule clothing collaboration co-curated with local brand Just Mystic
Tour times for Mystic Seaport Express are as follows:
Monday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 3:45 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. *Friday–Sunday, there will be additional evening tours available at 6:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Museum admission is not included in the evening cruises.
River cruises board directly across the street at the dock alongside S&P Oyster Restaurant and are weather dependent.
“The Museum is a proud member of the Mystic community, and we are excited to expand our presence in this new downtown experience, Mystic Seaport Museum: At the Drawbridge. It allows us to extend our reach locally to visitors of historic downtown Mystic, giving them a glimpse of all we have to offer and encourage them to find their sea story at the Museum” says Museum President Peter Armstrong.
While in the shop, our youngest visitors will have the opportunity to climb aboard a small-scale Sabino re-creation, one of the Museum’s National Historic Landmark vessels, for a photo opportunity. We encourage visitors to share their photos with the hashtag #findyourseastory. The Sabino re-creation was built by local woodworker Nick Wilson of NBW Custom Woodworking.
Following along with the Sabino theme, a key feature in the storefront’s window display is a ship model of Sabino built to ¾ scale of the iconic vessel. The model was built by local ship modeler Bill Stevens and took three months to build in 2015 and has been previously displayed at the Museum’s Antique Marine Engine Exposition, a legacy event which takes place every August.
The Museum extends its gratitude to the Whaler’s Inn, owners of the building, for providing us with the opportunity to transform this space for this limited engagement. At the Drawbridge will be open through October 15.
We look forward to welcoming visitors to the area and share the ongoings at the Museum, including world-class exhibitions, a historic seaport village, daily family activities, historic vessels, shipyard projects, and opportunities to get out on the water. Find your sea story at Mystic Seaport Museum this summer!
About Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
Parking in downtown Mystic has been a growing challenge and the Museum is now working Laz Parking to alleviate traffic and parking issues during the peak tourist season. The south half of the Museum’s South Lot, located along Route 27 will be available to downtown visitors for $10 per day (Museum members and visitors will continue to enjoy free parking).
This fee includes a free shuttle bus service to downtown Mystic which will run from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and may be adjusted as demand is established over the course of the season. Downtown Mystic visitors will be prompted through parking lot signage to pay via the Laz Parking App or through Text to Donate. Proof of payment will be required to gain shuttle access.
