The Half Moon Bay Coastal History Society presented The Coastal History Museum in the prison at 505 Johnston St.. is currently open on weekends from 11am-3pm. We are also open during Make it Main Thursday evenings and some days during the week when docents are available. Our new museum will open in late June 2023 with a combination of new and old exhibits.
The Half Moon Bay Coastside History Museum consists of two parts – the old city jail and the barn (a garage built around 1926 to store the sheriff’s vehicles).
In June 2018, the Half Moon Bay History Association opened a small museum in the old city jail. When visiting this historic building, visitors will be surprised by the amount of interesting artifacts and information the building houses.
The Half Moon Bay History Association has begun construction of the museum behind the old jail (now the museum) at 503 Johnston Street.
A new interior space will be created within the old garage structure (“barn”), while retaining the original historic exterior facade and most of the structural components of the 1926 building, as well as the newer foundation.
Construction is expected to be completed in December 2021. The new museum will meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and feature solar panels and LED lighting.
Exhibits include both interactive exhibits and artifact displays on all historical topics related to the Half Moon Bay coast.
Groundbreaking ceremony July 2021.
NEWSLETTER. From the Half Moon Bay History Association’s Fall 2021 newsletter ~ “Coastside Chronicles.”
We have exciting news for you this month. Our local contract partner, Jamie Verdurabegan the challenge of building our beautiful new museum from the historic barn/garage in July and has made significant progress. His team has found some great examples of older construction nails and we look forward to displaying them in the museum in 2021. We are very grateful to Jamie for his commitment to preserving as much of the original material and appearance as possible in our new state-of-the-art museum.
In addition to using recycled wood wherever possible, the new museum will also employ environmentally friendly technologies, including solar panels for all power supplies.
We were fortunate to receive a donation of Ocean Shore Railroad commemorative coins from Linda and Peter Kroosz. The education team plans to display them to third grade classes once COVID-19 restrictions allow to encourage discussion about our coastal transportation history.
Our wonderful docents are back at work keeping the prison museum open. We are open Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-2pm – longer when docents are available. We are also open the first Thursday of every month from 4pm-6pm (through November) as part of the monthly Make It Main Street event.
PRESS RELEASE.
April 19, Half Moon Bay, California. The Half Moon Bay History Association (HMBHA) has received all permits to begin construction of a state-of-the-art museum behind the old city jail at 503 Johnston Street.
The property, leased from the City of Half Moon Bay, is home to a large building whose origins date back centuries. An entirely new building will be constructed within the old structure, while retaining the original historic exterior. Construction will begin immediately and is expected to take twelve months to complete. The new museum will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will feature solar panels and LED lighting.
HMBHA has entered into an agreement with Weldon Exhibits, the Bay Area’s nationally known designers and manufacturers of museum exhibits. Weldon will work closely with HMBHA to create static and interactive experiences on all historical topics on the Half Moon Bay waterfront. Weldon will set up the exhibits off-site during construction of the new museum.
News and updates are posted on the History Association website: halfmoonbayhistory.org.
For further information please contact:
Dave Olson
Museum Project Manager, HMB History Association
650.387.3618 Mobile
[email protected]
Communications Manager, HMB History Association
650.554.8467 Mobile
[email protected]
