Where-To-Go Wednesday - Morro Castle Exhibit at the New Jersey Maritime Museum

What: Morro Castle Exhibit  

Where: New Jersey Maritime Museum

              528 Dock Rd.

              Beach Haven, NJ

Who: All ages

The Morro Castle was an ocean liner that traveled between New York and Havana. On September 8, 1934, on the way to New York, the ship caught fire off the coast of Long Beach Island, New Jersey and burned up killing 137 passengers and crew members. The burned-out ship was eventually recovered near Asbury Park, New Jersey. The incident, although obviously a tragedy, actually had a positive lasting legacy because as a result of what happened changes were made to improve fire safety aboard ships. 

  

The New Jersey Maritime Museum which has an extensive collection of memorabilia and information regarding New Jersey related shipwrecks, to begin with, has a particularly large collection related to the Moro Castle. In fact, they have a whole room devoted to the disaster. Numerous items recovered from the ship are a part of their collection. These include articles of clothing, a  life preserver, a deck of cards even the original escape ladder from the ship, and more. There are also numerous photographs and articles related to the catastrophe located at the museum as well as a couple of related videos. The videos can either be viewed at the museum or free DVD copies can be taken home for viewing. If you are interested in learning more about the Moro Castle fire, the New Jersey Maritime Museum is definitely the place to go.

For more information go to njmaritimemuseum.org.  

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.