Hunter Wood (1908-1948), SS Savannah, oil on canvas, c. 1943

National Maritime Day, celebrated each year on May 22 to honor the maritime industry, was originally established by Congress in 1933 to recognize the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. On May 31 at 1 PM Peter van Alfen returns to talk about the early development of steam propulsion in New York Harbor, the significance of the Savannah's groundbreaking 1819 voyage, and why it would be decades before another American steamship made the same crossing. After the talk, participants can join Peter in the Gallery for a discussion of the Noble’s model of the Savannah.