The museum will be closed until May 2023.
The museum is now closed in the meantime, browse this website or visit Facebook for interesting photos and stories about City Island.
2022 Webinar Series
Yacht Clubs of City Island
Join us on YouTube for a conversation with museum President, Tom Nye and learn about the Yacht Clubs of City Island.
View it on YouTube
City Island Boatyards: Past & Present
Visit YouTube for a conversation with CINM President and Curator, Tom Nye, with boatyard manager Alexander Giaccon as they discuss the history of the sailing and boatyard industry on City Island. You will learn about the varying boatyards that once existed on City Island, as well as the ones that remain, the services they offered and the ships they launched.
View it on YouTube
The History of Oystering in New York
Join Barbara Dolensek, the museum's administrator and an officer of the City Island Oyster Reef (a nonprofit organization that got its start at the museum), in a discussion of City Island's successful oystering industry in the 19th century.
View it Here
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Did You Know?
…that a yacht built on City Island in 1930 won a major race in December 2017 as the oldest boat in a fleet of 87? click for more
This is a great place to tell your story and give people more insight into who you are, what you do, and why it’s all about you.
Did You Know?
The next time (and every time) you shop at Amazon, go to
select the City Island Historical Society as your charity of choice, and 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases will be made to the Nautical Museum.
City Island’s Boat-Building History Exhibit
At the turn of the 20th century, City Island was a major center for wooden boat building with a worldwide reputation for the highest quality. This exhibition of photographs and commentary focuses on the extraordinary period in City Island’s history when yacht and shipbuilding were at their peak. Here are all the old yards, the brilliant craftsmen who worked there, the methods of construction they used, and the famous sailing and motor yachts they produced. Also highlighted are the military vessels that were built here during the war years and the brilliant 12-meter sloops that successfully defended the America’s Cup seven times.
The City Island Nautical Museum is proud to be a Distinctive Destination of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We welcome all all National Trust members to receive half-price
admission ($2.50) when visiting our site. Visit distinctive-destinations for more information.
The City Island Nautical Museum wishes to thank the following City Island businesses that have become Corporate Members.
AARP
A-Quality Glass
CI Construction
City Island Diner
Consolidated Yachts, Inc.
D & D Bowne Realty
Fordham Marine Service
John Douglas Forrest
KEE Electric
Leonard Hawkins American
Legion Post 156
Seafood City
The museum's programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, thanks to former Council Member Mark Gjonaj and to present Council Member Marjorie Velazquez, and from New York State, thanks to Assemblymember Michael Benedetto. The City Island Nautical Museum was granted a permanent charter by the Board of Regents of the New York State Board of Education on January 11, 2012. And, on the basis of a careful consideration of the history and the architecture of the building at 190 Fordham Street in which the museum is housed, the Landmarks Preservation Commissioned Public School 102 (later Public School 17, The City Island School) a landmark because of its “special character and a special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.