Inside the building, the heart of GulfQuest is the container ship’s stern that will house the museum’s exhibits.

The container ship is a realistic vessel – from its actual size to the water surrounding its hull and the hum of its engines. The ship commemorates the 20th century development of the concept of “containerization” – a revolutionary idea pioneered by Malcom McLean in the 1950s as the owner of Waterman Corporation in Mobile, AL. Access to the exhibit floors inside the container ship will be provided via rampways.

In addition to the museum, the building will house a ferry terminal with passenger ferry service that links downtown Mobile to other locations, and connects travelers with land-based public transportation. The ferries will be operated by the City of Mobile.

Visitors will enter the building in the Grand Lobby, a large rotunda that provides ground-floor access to amenities including ticketing, a full-service café and a museum store. Other building components include observation decks, an orientation theater, traveling exhibits galleries, meeting rooms, and an events space on the rooftop.

Watermark Design, a subsidiary of Thompson Engineering, is the architectural firm responsible for GulfQuest’s design and the building renderings on this web site.