After 30 years, KC’s iconic Steamboat Arabia museum to permanently close. When?
One of Kansas City’s most iconic landmarks is closing its museum doors next fall after over 30 years.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum, located in Kansas City’s historic River Market neighborhood, will close its doors November 2026, according to their website.
“For more than three decades, families have walked these halls, discovering a story buried in time — and finding their own reflected in it. This final year is a chance to revisit those memories and write one last chapter together,” the museum said on their website.
Museum curators hope to find a new home for the collection, but said nothing is set in stone. Talks have been ongoing for years about the museum’s future, including a proposed move to St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis, or even the West Bottoms.
Last November, the City Market Oversight Committee put out a request for developers to submit proposals for turning the museum site at 400 Grand Blvd. into a space for a boutique hotel, retail and an underground parking garage. The request called for maintaining the area’s architectural look on the city-owned property, according to previous reporting.
The building has 11,500 square feet of space above ground, plus 36,000 square feet below ground. Construction could also vertically expand the building and add more floors above the structure as it stands now.
History of the Steamboat Arabia
In September 1856, the three-year-old, 171-foot long Steamboat Arabia, laden with over 200 tons of cargo bound for 16 frontier towns, struck a tree snag and quickly sank to the bottom of the Missouri River, just six miles west of Kansas City.
Over the years, the Missouri River shifted its course, leaving the Arabia and its valuable cargo buried 45 feet beneath a Kansas cornfield. In 1988, The Steamboat Arabia was excavated by a team led by Bob Hawley and his sons, David and Greg Hawley, along with friend Jerry Mackey and restaurateur David Luttrell.
The ship and its cargo, buried in mud, didn’t see light nor oxygen for over 132 years, leaving many of the pre-Civil War artifacts well preserved. Among the cargo were crates of china, tools, guns, children’s toys, shoes, and textiles, including coats, hats, pants, and bolts of fabric and even the world’s oldest pickles.
The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Ticket rates range from free to $15.50. Details can be found on their website.
Previous reporting from The Star’s Chris Higgins and Tammy Ljungblad was used in this piece.
