Visitors to the Sargent House Museum learn about the early history of Gloucester from its beginnings as a farming and lumbering outpost to its evolution into the country’s premier seaport. Visitors will also see a collection of original works by the great portrait painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) descendant of the Sargent family, who loved the house and its ties to Colonial Gloucester.

Visitors to Hammond Castle Museum are welcome to explore the castle on a self-guided tour of many rooms including the great hall, indoor courtyard, Renaissance dining room, two guest bedrooms, the inventions exhibit room, the library, the War room, the kitchens, the Natalie Hays Hammond exhibit room, the tower galleries, as well as several smaller rooms and passage ways including a secret passageway.  Visitors may also enjoy the beauty of the castle grounds and a view of the Atlantic shore line.

The Center celebrates Gloucester's historic relationship with the sea. Here you can watch a boatbuilder shape a traditional wooden dory, handle seastars and sea urchins in our touch tanks, sound a vintage foghorn, learn about life aboard a schooner 100 years ago, and watch underwater footage of the fabulous creatures that inhabit the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary just three miles offshore.

A Truly American Art Museum.  The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in downtown Gloucester, Massachusetts, America’s oldest fishing port.

A 45 minute narrated tours of Gloucester's historic ice company are available throughout the week. Please call (978-283-0174) or e-mail to reserve spaces in our scheduled tours, or to book a special tour appointment. Tours are $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors and children under 12 (also special Group Discounts). Children under 7 are free. Warm clothing or a sweatshirt & practical shoes recommended!

Enjoy first-run independent and foreign films plus operas from around the world in a comfortable living room atmosphere with comfortable chairs, couches and dining tables.

The Essex Shipbuilding Museum tells the extraordinary story of a small New England village that built more two-masted woodenfishing schooners than any other place in the world. Located in the heart of Essex, Massachusetts, the Museum is adjacent to an acre of land set aside in 1668 “for a yard to build vessels and employing workmen for this end” and is integral to the town's historic character, scenic vista and central river basin. 

A mecca for lovers of American folk art, Cogswell’s Grant was the summer home of renowned collectors Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little. The colonial-era farmhouse on the property serves as a rich backdrop for their celebrated collection, assembled over a period of nearly sixty years. Though known for their meticulous research, the Littles decorated with an eye for visual delight rather than historic accuracy, and the result is a house rich in atmosphere and crowded with works of strong, even quirky character

Since 1981, Rockport Music has been committed to one enduring purpose: enriching lives through great music. Located in the scenic seaport village of Rockport, Massachusetts, Rockport Music presents exceptional musical performances and events year round, including the acclaimed Rockport Chamber Music Festival, now celebrating its 29th season with 20 performances during June and July 2010. Rockport Music also presents classical, jazz, folk and world music – as well as opera and theater simulcasts and film series. Educational enrichment programs reach over 7,500 youth and adults annually and include school outreach programs, family concerts, lectures, open rehearsals, and master classes.

Schooner Adventure is a 122-foot historic wooden dory fishing schooner built in 1926 in Essex, Massachusetts. Constructed of white oak and yellow pine, she was fashioned as a “knockabout”—a design without a bowsprit for the safety of the crew.