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The MARY A. WHALEN

She is the last of her kind in the USA and on the National Register of Historic Places, to understand why, see the information in our virtual museum here.

PortSide uses of the MARY A. WHALEN:

  • as a historic ship where we give tours

  • as a location for diverse educational programs

  • as a stage for cultural activities

  • as a landing - visiting boats tie up alongside

  • home of our world-famous ship cat Chiclet

  • as the site of our offices

When & where to see the MARY:

Where:  ship MARY WHALEN, Pier 11, Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, Brooklyn.  The Red Hook Atlantic Basin NYC ferry stop is next to us. Directions.

During TankerTime enjoy the main deck of PortSide's historic ship, the tanker MARY A. WHALEN set with tables, chairs. Watch ship, ducks, and geese come and go. Chill. Beat the rat race. Wait for the NYC Ferry here. Have your meeting or meal here. 

Schedule: M-F 10am to 6pm and often later. Weekends often. We have less personnel since the pandemic, so if staff are out at a meeting, the deck is closed (indicated by a sign on the gangway). Volunteer so we can expand weekend hours.

Until PortSide gets building space and it’s been a 17-year struggle at this point, (see our history here), our offices are on the ship, limiting public-access to the ship interior. We offer public tours in May (for the ship’s birthday) and in October as part of Open House New York, and for school groups and others by appointment. If you want to visit for a school program, learn about our offerings on our webpage EDUCATION & YOUTH.

Thanks to our maintenance sponsors and partners!

The exterior of the MARY A. WHALEN is being restored in part with labor from the painters' union District Council 9 which is using the ship as a training site.  We give them a site, they give us labor, and we partner in training union labor. Local 806 works on painting the exterior. The Metal Polishing division strips and polishes bronze and Monel metals. The Commercial Division painted the galley. The exterior paint is thanks to a generous donation by International Paint.