Posts from Lauren T. Furey

Lauren is responsible for developing, implementing and coordinating interpretive programs in both new and ongoing exhibitions throughout the Museum. Her avid love of all things related to maps and books is center stage in her creation and execution of the Museum’s popular Maritime Mondays program. She provides engaging interpretation in the Museum as well as outreach programming in the community to connect our visitors with our collection and enrich the visitors’ experiences.
90th Birthday Collections Staff Voices

These Doors Do Heavy Metal!

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The Bronze Doors and a shipyard car and chauffeur, Mr. Fisher. The shipyard ran this car every morning and evening to the Museum and hydraulic lab to carry mail, lab, information, and passengers, July 1939. Image Courtesy of The Mariners’ Museum and Park.

Have you ever noticed the big metal doors at the Business Entrance of The Mariners’ Museum and Park? Have you ever thought that maybe they were a little fancy for an entrance where deliveries are made and staff enters to gather our badges and trek to wherever our offices happen to be on-site? Well, those doors, made of bronze, are actually part of our Collection and used to be the Main Entrance to the Museum!

There is a bit of a story behind them. As you have probably read in a previous blog, Archer M. Huntington was the driving force behind the construction of The Mariners’ Museum and Park. It was his vision to have a stunning entrance to the Museum, something that would visually make people stop and say “WOW!”. Incidentally, this is why the original portion of the Museum has the very unusual “Huntington Squeeze” brick and mortar technique. It’s done by not scraping off the mortar as layers of bricks are added in the wall construction.   Read more

Staff Voices

The Magic of Maritime Mondays

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All ages enjoy Maritime Mondays!

The Magic of Maritime Mondays

The pandemic has changed everything. We go to work “from home” and most of our day-to-day interactions with others outside of our homes are done online via Zoom, Google Chat, FaceTime, etc. Of course there are those who are essential personnel including first responders, maintenance workers, health care providers, and all those folks who keep our cities going and our grocery stores running. Even my 20-year-old kid, who still lives at home, is working at Starbucks. But I’m stuck at home.   Read more

Collections Staff Voices

Patten Down the Hatches!

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Image: National Portrait Gallery, Mary Ann Brown Patten 1857

We often hear about adventures at sea involving storms, mutinies, accidents, and illness. More often than not, the storyteller goes on to talk about the heroics of a crew member who is, usually, a man. But what if it were a woman? An amazing 19-year-old woman? A woman who happened to also be pregnant?

The story of Mary Patten was well known when it took place in the 19th century. It appeared in many newspapers because of the sheer novelty of the incident. Women in 19th-century society were considered the “weaker sex,” and whose sole purpose, in middle class America, was to support their husbands and families at home.  I grew up in New England and never heard a word about Mary.    Read more