The Waterfront Museum was formerly Lehigh Valley Barge No. 79, a Lehigh Valley Railroad barge that moved goods across the Hudson River. It dates to 1914 and is believed to be the only all-wooden Hudson River railroad barge still afloat.[1]
It is currently docked and operated as a museum at the foot of Conover Street in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood where it provides a range of educational and entertainment programming.[2] [3] It was also the location for the US premiere of Arthur Miller's The Hook.[4]
The museum was established in 1985 following the restoration project by founder and juggler David Sharps. He subsequently relocated the barge to Red Hook where it has remained since 1994.[3] He continued to serve as President through the museum's first twenty-five years of operation.[5]