Plan your visit to Strawbery Banke Museum

Strawbery Banke Museum’s historic houses are open seasonally from April 26, 2025, through October 26, 2025, and for special events and programs throughout the year.

Plan your visit to the Puddle Dock neighborhood, where you can travel throughout time and learn more than 350 years of history, from Indigenous history to the present day, in the same waterfront neighborhood. Tour historic houses on their original sites, meet engaging costumed roleplayers, watch traditional crafts demonstrations, and explore heirloom gardens and historical landscapes.

Traveling to Portsmouth in the winter months? Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond allows visitors to enjoy seasonal outdoor ice skating on professionally maintained ice. Additionally, the Museum offers year-round events, programs, and workshops, helping to engage audiences of all ages and bring history to life. Click here to view the Museum’s calendar of events.

Hours of Operation

Historic House Season
April 26-October 26, 2025

Hours:
10 AM – 4 PM (Closed on Tuesdays)
Extended Hours:
Saturdays & Sundays in July & August,
10 AM – 5 PM

Museum Admission

Adult: $24.00
Senior (65+)/Student: $22.00
Child (ages 5 - 17): $12.00
Child (under 5): Free
Family (2 Adults & Children): $60.00
Members: Free — Learn More!

Directions

Directions and parking for
14 Hancock Street,
Portsmouth, NH 03801

Featured Exhibits

  • SAACC at 25: A Quarter Century of Sharing the Black Experience

    Strawbery Banke hosts the Seacoast African American Cultural Center’s 25th anniversary exhibition, in the Rowland Gallery, opening June 19. The exhibit showcases SAACC’s impact on New Hampshire’s Black arts and culture through art, history, and education. In 2026, the Penhallow-Cousins House will open to share the story of SAACC founder Geraldine “Jeri” Cousins Palmer’s family.

  • The Walsh House Interactive Exhibit

    Visitors are invited to sit at the dining table, lie on the bed, open drawers, and try on costumes to better understand everyday life in 1802 and draw connections between the past and present.

  • People of the Dawnland

    Learn more about past and present Abenaki and Wabanaki cutlure, arts, foodways, storyteling traditions, and more in the interactive People of the Dawnland exhibit. Examine ancient stone tools, hear and learn an Abenaki greeting, and see what plants are growing in the Abenaki teaching garden.

  • Voices from World War II

    Explore stories of service and sacrifice in the newly refreshed Voices from World War II exhibit in the Abbott Garage. Listen to oral histories recorded by local residents, originally collected in the 1990s, and view historic photos of Portsmouth’s Puddle Dock neighborhood during World War II. Visitors can also mark a world map with where they or their loved ones have served in times of war and peace.

  • Port of Portsmouth: War, Trade & Travel

    Learn about Portsmouth’s and the Seacoast’s maritime history in the Montrone Family Gallery. focuses on the maritime history of Portsmouth and the Seacoast, showcasing a collection of models and paintings of ships built in Portsmouth and the stories of those who sailed them.

Parking Information

Free parking is available at 14 Hancock Street only for visitors to:

  • Strawbery Banke Museum

  • Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond

  • Pickwick's at the Banke

Please note the lot is small and parking is available on a first-come, first served basis.

There is no onsite parking during the Museum’s special events.

If parking is unavailable at Strawbery Banke, use free and paid options nearby including the Hanover Street and Foundry Place Garages. More info at Park Portsmouth or the off-street parking lot map.

There is no overnight parking and no parking for other destinations. Violators will be towed at the owner’s expense by Superior Towing: 603.436.8787

  • Accessible parking is available in the Museum lot, including three designated spaces—two of which are suitable for wheelchair vans. Visitors are welcome to pull up to the Museum entrance for drop-off or to accommodate accessibility needs.

  • Buses, RVs, and campers must make parking arrangements in advance by contacting Visitor Services at 603.433.1100.

  • Bike racks are available for visitor use outside of the Lawrence J. Yerdon Visitors Center in the Museum’s main parking lot. The Museum will not be held liable for any damages or theft of your property.

  • Strawbery Banke Museum opens its private lot at 14 Hancock Street for public parking during select after-hours community events, including the Prescott Park Arts Festival, city fireworks displays, the Halloween Parade, and more.

    Parking is subject to availability and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Payment is accepted by credit card and Venmo; cash is not accepted.

    Rates:

    • Nonmembers: $15 per vehicle

    • Members: Free. Please present a valid membership card.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Strawbery Banke is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all visitors and improving accessibility to the museum grounds and its offerings for everyone. Please click here for details of how the Museum provides accessible options onsite.

    For questions or requests about specific programs or needs, please contact Jonathan Brown, Director of Visitor Services, via jbrown@sbmuseum.org or 603.433.1110.

  • Dogs and other pets are not permitted on the Museum grounds when the Museum is open.

    Additionally, dogs and other pets are not permitted on the grounds during Strawbery Banke's events, including Tuesdays on the Terrace.

    Click here to view the calendar of events.

    Service dogs, as defined by the ADA, are welcome.

  • Still photography is permitted for private, noncommercial use only. Flash is not permitted inside any of the historic houses. Photographs cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any manner whatsoever.

    Photography is not permitted in certain special exhibitions or any areas designated "No Photography." Personal video cameras are permitted unless otherwise stated and use is subject to the terms above.

Visitor Code of Conduct

Strawbery Banke is committed to making history accessible. The Museum strives to be an inclusive and safe environment for all and condemns violence, bullying, or hate speech based on age, race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected class. Whether in person or as part of online programming, Strawbery Banke expects all staff, volunteers, visitors, and members to act responsibly and be considerate of others throughout the Museum. If you see anyone acting in a way that is disrespectful to others, please alert Museum staff.

The Museum reserves the right to refuse admission, revoke membership, control occupancy, or eject/remove any person for any reason without refund, including violating the code of conduct or exhibiting unsafe, inappropriate, or disruptive behavior, or behavior likely to cause damage. Guests who do not act responsibly may be asked to leave. If they refuse to leave the property, they may be referred to law enforcement and prosecuted for criminal trespass.

    1. Please ask Museum staff about the objects and stories within each historic house to learn more about the things that interest you.

    2. Explore the gardens and ask staff about the flora planted in each.

    3. Adult supervision of children is required while on Museum grounds.

    4. Food and drinks are not permitted inside the historic houses. Please enjoy food and beverage in the Lawrence J. Yerdon Visitors Center. For those who bring boxed lunches, the Kennebunk Savings Terrace offers a large outdoor space with tables and chairs during the Historic House Season (spring through fall). Additionally, there are several areas throughout the grounds that are suitable for picnics.

    5. Visitors are not permitted to engage in solicitation of staff, volunteers, or other visitors for any purposes while on Museum grounds.

    6. Service animals, as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act, are welcome on our grounds. Please note that pets and emotional support animals are not permitted.

    7. Smoking, vaping, the use of smoke-related products (i.e. e-cigarettes, cigars, tobacco and its derivatives) and the use of cannabis and its derivatives are prohibited on Museum grounds, inside the buildings, and in the parking lot.

    8. Weapons of any kind, or any other item deemed dangerous by the Museum, are not permitted on Museum grounds unless designated by the Museum president.

    9. Strawbery Banke exhibits are for visitor enjoyment and learning. Please help keep them intact. While several exhibits are hands-on and interactive, please refrain from touching those that are not designed for those purposes.

    10. Take non-flash photos for personal use! Except where noted, photography for personal use is allowed. Tripods, lights, selfie sticks, and flash photography are NOT permitted inside the historic houses and galleries. However, please avoid bringing tripods or lights. Photographs cannot be reproduced for sale without prior permission.