Foss Waterway Seaport

A stunning waterfront venue with incredible character and views! As a wedding DJ and MC, I’ve had the privilege of performing at many venues—but Foss Waterway Seaport stands out as one of the most memorable. The industrial-meets-maritime charm, historic architecture, and panoramic views of Commencement Bay create an unforgettable atmosphere for any celebration. The staff is top-tier—professional, helpful, and truly invested in making events run smoothly. Load-in was easy, acoustics were great, and the space allows for seamless transitions between ceremony, dinner, and dancing. If you’re looking for a unique Tacoma venue that blends history, elegance, and waterfront beauty, Foss Waterway Seaport is it. Highly recommend for weddings, corporate events, and milestone celebrations!

Do check their website before coming for the upcoming event-related closures. Five stars just for updating visitors on the website. The museum itself is very spacious. You enter, fill out a form at the front desk, and enter through the gift shop (or however you wish; we started on the right side and made a nice loop). My favorite exhibit was the MV Kalakala. I've seen only photos of it and was super excited to see a model of the ferry. It's so sad that the restoration efforts failed and the ferry got disassembled. I also liked the "The known world as of 1643" globe. I have never seen a map with no US West Coast on it (it's noted on the sign that the Pacific Northwest Coast has yet to be charted). They have touch tanks but they are "open" only on the weekends from 1-3pm. And last but not least- the chalk storage in the exploration area is a ferry, so cute. Overall, a great museum with awesome exhibits and friendly staff.

Great spot to walk along the water just off downtown Tacoma. You can see mt. Rainer, cargo ships, Tacoma Dome, Glass Museum (Free Thursdays and free glass bridge), the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum (FREE, highly recommend), the sound, and The Olympics if you do the whole stretch. Excellent place to Kayak or boat about.

This place is such a neat museum! We really enjoyed it! We learned about so many things we hadn't known before, there are so many fun facts all around. Tons of great boats and animal skeletons to check out. They really make it fun for the kiddos too. They had a coloring station, a touch an animal station, a microscope for them to see things in, and so much more. They even had a game of bingo so the kids could try to find things around the museum and earn candy afterwards. It really was a lot of fun! The staff were extremely kind, knowledgeable and welcoming. Parking is free. Clean bathrooms. Overall a wonderful place to visit! Highly recommend.

I lived in Tacoma for almost 20 years never new this place was there. Great place to go on a rainy day or sunny summer day like us. A lot of history about the water front .

Such a fun museum and SO kid friendly! They have a scavenger hunt for kids and it takes some good searching so even through high school I think it would be fun. They have boats you can get in and play, touch tanks, coloring wall, cars, coloring tables, things with buttons to hear sounds and soooo much more! And the bathrooms were sooo clean!

It’s a small maritime museum with a lot of small craft. The whale skeleton is super cool along with the marble globe. They have Cousteau’s wet suit too. Neat place to visit. There was no fee to enter when we arrived.

Catered for a chowder social at this location it was such a lovely time. They really make you feel like your part of their culture and super interesting to learn about the history of Tacoma and the south sound. What a fun event! A dessert dash... need I say more!

Such a cool place! I've lived in Tacoma for years but have never been inside this museum. There are very mesmerizing displays and they present history in an interactive and captivating way. The staff was friendly and it wasn't too busy (we went the last hour they were open on a Friday). It's free admission, but they deserve a donation! I intentionally didn't take too many photos because I want you all to come in and see it for yourself!

Do not bother with this venue. The woman that is supposedly in charge Amber was rude and extremely unhelpful. Don't waste your time.

Great maritime museum with a lot of history, different exhibits, art, sea animals, and hands-on activities. I visited with my family that includes 2 small children and we all had a great time. The staff working were very friendly and informative. The restrooms were well kept and parking was easy. The 3rd Thursday of the month is free from 4pm-8pm!

My wife and I stumbled across this cool museum a year ago and really loved it. It has allot of maritime artifacts and history and the staff was really friendly.

do not under any circumstance listen to Laura P... she is a gaslighting narcissist that thinks common courtesies and rules do not apply to/for her. i know you had high hopes for an oscar with your poor performance, but you were never a candidate in the first place. thank you, next!

Got a Groupon deal for $12 for 2 admission tickets and enjoyed it! It was one of the few places left open during the Coronavirus outbreak and even though it was empty, I learned a lot. The staff was nice and friendly. They had a variety of exhibits ranging from boats, railroads, marine life, and conversation. My favorite area was their marine life because they had a little area where you could touch sea urchins, crabs, and more. I also had a fun time chatting with the lady managing the tank about the different varieties of fishes found in Tacoma. One thing I learned was they have 2 parking lots--one before Google Maps tells you to turn and the one after it says turn. My recommendation is you go to the second one because that's closest to the entrance.

I thought I gave this place 5 stars when I breezed through last year, but I didn't, so here's my 5-star review, 365 days later. The Foss Waterway Seaport Is a sweet museum in an historic building that explains the "sails to rails" connection in Tacoma. You like trains? This place is for you. You like boats? Even better. Young'uns will find plenty to do, and adults will appreciate the carefully curated exhibits. Check out the website for times and details. You'll be glad you spent a few hours here.

We had so much fun checking out the seaport museum at the Thea Foss Waterway. We also got to tour the Lady Washington! #jblmareathingstodo

I've been in Tacoma for about four or five years now and only recently did I make my first ever trip to the Foss Waterway Seaport. This museum is kind of tucked away from the rest of the museums in town so it seems like it doesn't get as much press as the others in town but it is still a good museum to go to. Since it is located on the Foss Waterway perhaps is a reason why it is overlooked because there isn't a whole lot of other things nearby it other than a park and a marina which doesn't get too much attention. The museum is maritime oriented and much of it's focus is done on the Commencement Bay area covering environmental history and clean up and the industries that were around the bay at one time and presently. There is also content that covers some history of the railroad which is right across the road from the museum. All of it is very fascinating! There is a section of the museum where if you are there at the right time you can see boat builders do their thing on their water crafts! There is a small art section as well. The museum has lots of reading and you may be here a little while. I wouldn't think that you would spend the whole day( at least for most people) here but it is a good way to spend an afternoon. The entry fee is $ 10 per adult. The building that the museum is housed in is a great old warehouse building that used to be much more numerous on the waterway at one time but due to fires and neglect most of these old buildings are gone but the restoration efforts for this place are great. If you are here on a clear day you can go outside to the north and get a view of Commencement Bay but the main highlight is seeing Mount Rainier from the waterway. This is a great museum and at some point I'd love to come back!

The Seaport is a fantastic maritime museum - they house an excellent Collection of historical boats & fishing equipment on display. It's fascinating to come in and read about the industry of the Foss Waterway & the Port of Tacoma, including the original grain terminal & ties to the UP Railroad. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the old outboard collection, and some of the wooden boats built here in Tacoma are unmatched for quality and service. A local historian took the time to take us through the exhibit on Thea Foss, and describe her influence on the tugboat industry here in the Pacific Northwest. Such a fascinating, capable woman she was! I'd definitely bring a group of students to come here for a guided tour, it's very educational. There's plenty of parking streetside for most weekdays. A highlight of our summer last year was coming here to visit the Tall Ships of Tacoma, moored right in front of the Seaport museum! We'll definitely keep coming in for visits from time to time.

We discovered the Maritime museum sort of by chance when it hosted a private party that we attended... I hadn't even heard about the Foss Waterway Seaport renovations. The space worked well for the event, with catered food and dining tables set up in the heart of the museum space surrounded by some very cool old boats of all shapes and sizes. I liked the exhibit of antique outboard motors, too. There were several interactive exhibits, geared more towards children but also fun for inquisitive adults, including one that demonstrates the concept behind a sextant by pairing Einstein's head with Marilyn Monroe's body... hmm. The bulk of the space was unused and looked like it could house quite a large event. The museum exhibits aren't very extensive at this point, but it's a a solid start, anyway, and it was fun to have things to peruse during the party. The dock space is large and offers a great up-close view of the Thea Foss waterway and neighboring port businesses.

I thought I'd just stop by to see a few boats but I was wrong. This place has world-class displays of historic boats, trains & sculpture; all #pacificnorthwest of course. Well there's not a lot of free parking but a pay lot right next door. It is easy to get to if you follow directions but be sure to go the speed limit or you'll pass right by it. The front counter guy was friendly & polite---wouldn't expect anything less. Plan to spend at least an hour because there is lots to see. The train displays were awesome! Made me wonder why we don't use them more in the #pacificnorthwest. My hands were ready to touch the compasses, lights & gears but there signs to not handle some of the exhibits. All in all, a good place to explore local history, art & commerce.

Nice place and plenty to see at this museum. For the local history buffs out there, this is definitely a place to see. 4 stars because not a lot of interactive exhibits. Unless you like reading all day, there's not much else to do. The building could use a bit more fun if you ask me. I really enjoyed the history, though. My friend who was with me did not have as much fun as I did.

A museum relating to all things ship building and shipping. Exhibits included boats, diving gear, miscellaneous ship parts, old fishing tackle, live salmon hatchlings, and waterway cleanup. There's even a functioning boat-building shop. The museum building is a historical artifact - an old waterfront warehouse used for loading grain from inland trains to ocean ships. For the kids (or the childish senior citizen like me) was a large Lego undersea diorama and two small model train layouts. Because of its least convenient location, Foss is easily the most skippable of the six member museums on the Tacoma Museum Pass, but don't make this mistake. Parking is free, unlike the other museums. We stayed 45 minutes.

This is a nice little museum that is more geared towards children then I thought it would have been. I was under the impression that it would be a museum with boats in it, and maybe some history of the area. Yes it was. But it also had a great section of maritime related art built out of found items such as scrap metal and glass pieces that I found quite interesting. It has an extensive section of artwork built by literally all ages of trash cleaned up out of the waterway - including what to my un-biolgist eye is a full scale juvenile humpback whale. It has another section talking about the docks themselves, the people that worked there. A brand new and extensive section dedicated to SCUBA, a full size fishing boat, restored and labeled. And two pretty cool scale model trains. They also had a number of small wooden boats and canoes that were (for the most part,) well labeled. These included a number of boats that were hand built nearby! And on top of all of that, one of the best views of Mt. Rainier is directly outside on the dock. This was well worth the admission fee, and is especially good for families.

Always looking for local historical museums. This one is a GEM and seems to be in progress. Am relieved to see that the Puyallup Tribe's history will soon be a part of the viewing...IMHO it should have been the FIRST exhibit developed. Couldn't even get in the door without gawking at the huge sea-creature art dangling and wafting in the air. This museum has tons of local history ...seems organized to meet many interests and ages...visit the area with sea creatures in disks to identify under a magnifier. Vintage outboard motors, history and models of the impact of the railroad, replicas of historic skiffs and watercraft, the workmanship of wooden vessels, classic speed boats, relics from the Kalakala (the ancient icon of our area), history of the use of the warehouse structure and its rebirth. Of major note to our group was seeing whale bones being aligned into skeletal form..a work of Art and science done with Stadium High School students. A Humpback? Our party had viewed a beached Fin? whale in Burien years ago. To know that this wonderful mammal became a mode of education for all ages through an Eagle Scout troop project made our hearts sing. One difficult thing for me was the odor of chemicals BARF! from the fully operative boat-building area that is attached. Full disclaimer: I have a truly sensitive nose. Go there soak in the past and understand how Tacoma came to be. Go have lunch at Rock the Dock! Delish soups -made daily-in smaller sourdough bread bowls, YUM!!! ....standard restaurant fare... huge variety. Excellent service...I want to go back for shrimp and grits!!

Found out about this place in the Tacoma tourism pamphlet while taking the out-of-town people around. Although still fairly small and getting established, the Foss museum gives a history of the local area. While geared more towards children, they have exhibits and boats to look at if you're an adult. The children's area has a bunch of hands on things and even does a mini tour outside. They have not only history but also interactive displays for kids to learn about. When we came in they were just setting up the railroad portion of the museum. He had a model train setup and was working at some other things about the local railroading industry. Though it was in its infancy I have a feeling there are great things in store. This museum is a work in progress but I think there is great potential in its future.

My encounter here was as a wedding venue. It has all the makings of a great place until you encounter the management. We were told multiple different times when we could set up and ended up putting the finishing touches right before the ceremony started. Not that I wanted to spend the night but 10:30 seemed a little early for last call. This could be a premier rental venue if they wanted, but seem intent on keeping it a museum for tiny boats. If you're looking for rowboats this just may be the place for you.

The seaport museum provides a wonder glimpse into Tacoma's waterfront history. It houses a collection of vintage boats, narratives as to the historical economics of the waterway and its role in the shipping industry, and the museum houses a working boat woodworking shop. The esplanade out front is great to stroll for a view at the Foss Waterway. This museum is appropriate for all ages.

Newer museum that is a work in progress, several great exhibits with a lot of hands on items for the kids. Very informative exhibits and staff, plus on waterfront.

This is such a wonderful maritime museum to come to! It has activities for kids and very informative information on the history of the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest. Its building is even 114 years old! Definitely will be visiting again.

This is more than just a museum. Foss Waterway Seaport provides great educational programs and fun activities for all. I had a ton of fun attending events at the Seaport all summer long. They're a fantastic community asset; can't wait to see what's in store next year!

I came here for an event not related to the museum, but plan to return with my family so that we can enjoy the whole thing. I have some beautiful photos - too bad I can't upload and share

Fantastic museum filled with beautiful boats, artful and engaging displays along with highly knowledgeable and friendly staff. Stopped in to see info about last week's maritime festival "Quick and Dirty" boat building competition and found so much more. The current exhibit of beautifully restored classic power boats made us want to have our own classic for cruising around the sound. Bravo!

Found this place by chance because my son's speech therapist is next door in the Dock Bldg. We have been several times and always enjoy the experience. They are very welcoming to children and to people with special needs.