Welcome to the Virtual Model Room & Workshop Tour!
We are delighted to share an ongoing project to make the Nathanael Greene Herreshoff Model Room & Workshop Exhibit more accessible to our visitors, both in-person and online. Today we invite you to join us for a (virtual) guided tour of the Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection with HMM founder, naval architect, America's Cup Hall of Fame member, and grandson of Captain Nat, Halsey C. Herreshoff. You can start exploring right away by clicking on the model below, or scroll down for more information about the project and some tips on navigating.
Please note: in-person physical access to the Model Room & Workshop at HMM has been restricted by the Herreshoff family to better preserve and protect this significant collection of artifacts. HMM strives to provide public access periodically throughout the year, but we are limited by what our very small curatorial staff can reasonably accommodate. Please contact us for more information about public access days and / or for information about how to make an appointment to view the collection: [email protected]
About this Project
The tour includes almost 70 stops with more than 80 minutes of audio illustrated by more than 700 photos, plans and archival documents. There is no set order for the tour stops, but a "Welcome," "Conclusion," and introduction to each room can be found in the middle of the floor. If you are short on time, the stops highlighted in gold will take you through in about 20 minutes. If you are navigating with a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, be sure to click the "full screen" button in the lower right hand corner of the model for the best viewing experience.
This guided tour is both an oral history project and an exhibit overview. It does not, however, describe each of the more than 400 models in the Model Room and Workshop individually. If you would like to look up specific models, you can do so through the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné by clicking on individual models in the image on the left-hand side of the screen.
Finally, if you enjoyed this experience, we hope you will show your appreciation by becoming a member or donating to the museum today. Your continued support directly enables these kinds of projects, as well as research into, and preservation of, our collections.
Acknowledgements:
- This project would not have been possible without the enthusiastic support and participation of Halsey C. Herreshoff; HMM gratefully acknowledges his ongoing preservation and celebration of this very important collection. The virtual tour was funded by the HArT Recovery Grant Program through Rhode Island Commerce. Additionally we are deeply grateful to the MIT Museum for providing access to material from the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, and Historic New England and the Library of Congress for their free and open use of historic photos from the golden age of yachting. We are also indebted to the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné for its continuing research assistance and support. Select images from other collections are credited where they appear.