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Shipwrecked in time: The Gunboat at Ground Zero

Shipwrecked in time: The Gunboat at Ground Zero

May 22, 2025

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Happy Thursday, Capital Region! Today, we’ve got one of those stories that makes us really appreciate living in New York’s capital city, where you’re never far from a deep sense of history in the making.

We also want to thank every one of you who have taken the time to fill out our new Reader Survey. We’re learning so much about you! We’re gonna share some of the most interesting insights next week in the newsletter.

Enjoy the three-day weekend and stay dry, y’all ☔️

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Today in The 518:

A Revolutionary War ship resurfaces at the NYS Museum
School election results & a new Trader Joe’s approved
Art in the Park, Schenectady Nightmare Market, Zone 518
All the music shows you need to know this week

The Revolutionary War gunboat unearthed at Ground Zero 📷️ AKRF

Shipwrecked in time: A Revolutionary War gunboat comes back to life at the NYS Museum ⚓️

In 2010, workers in Lower Manhattan made a jaw-dropping discovery in the midst of post-9/11 construction: a wooden ship lodged deep in the landfill under Ground Zero.

This month, the remarkable relic—a Revolutionary War-era, American-made gunboat, possibly captured by the British—made its way to its final berth at the New York State Museum.

In 2026, the “World Trade Center Ship,” as it has become known, will be the centerpiece of a major exhibition at the museum commemorating our country’s 250th birthday. But first, the remains of the 50-foot gunboat need to be carefully reassembled, having traveled from Texas A&M, where researchers have spent over a decade conserving the roughly 600 timbers and 2,000 artifacts.

Right now, visitors to the “Gunboat at Ground Zero” exhibit at the State Museum can see history being reconstructed in real time. A four-member team from Texas is currently in Albany, working on the ship’s hull in public view.

“We’re not just displaying an artifact,” Dr. Michael Lucas, the museum’s curator of historical archeology, tells us. “We’re inviting people to watch the past come back to life. It’s messy, fascinating, and very real.”

Michael Lucas of the New York State Museum undertakes the final cleaning of a timber in preparation for reassembly 📷️ NYSM

But how did a warship end up beneath Ground Zero?

The working theory: The ship was captured by the British—possibly in 1777 around the fall of Philadelphia—and later scuttled or repurposed in Manhattan’s expanding harbor.

“A pewter button from the 52nd Regiment of Foot, a British unit, was found on board,” Dr. Lucas explains. “That was the first big clue that this wasn’t just an ordinary cargo ship.”

We know the ship was built after 1773—probably around 1775—based on dendrochronology, or tree ring analysis.

“It was built fast, with iron nails instead of wooden pegs, which tells us it was likely a wartime rush job. We think it served in shallow waters during the Revolution.”

There’s some symbolic significance to the ship ending up in Albany, which played a central role in the maritime history of colonial America.

“Albany has always been an important gateway to the North and the West,” Dr. Lucas says. “Of course, it was also a strategic point in the Revolutionary War.”

It’s also entirely appropriate that the State Museum was chosen to be the final berth for the ship. Few other facilities in the state had the space or means to maintain it.

“It’s a reminder of what museums like ours are here to do. Preserve, interpret, and share the stories that built this country—even the ones hidden beneath our feet.”

On Friday at noon in the museum’s Huxley Theater, Michael Lucas will join Dr. Peter Fix, principal conservator of the World Trade Center Ship and an expert in archaeological watercraft conservation at Texas A&M, to talk about “Unlocking the Secrets of the Gunboat at Ground Zero.” The event is free. Details here.

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🗳️ The results of this week’s school elections are in. Look here to find your school district. The majority of school budgets were approved, although voters rejected the $67 million spending plan for Scotia-Glenville.

🎖️ Troy has been chosen to be among the 30 U.S. cities that will host “The Wall That Heals,” a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The wall will be on display June 5-8 at La Salle Institute, which lost five cadets during the Vietnam War. The city is asking for 200 volunteers to help staff the event, which will be open 24/7 during its rare stop in Troy. [WAMC]

🛒 Fans of Trader Joe’s are celebrating after the Bethlehem Planning Board approved the site plan for a new store location at Glenmont Plaza. This will be the third TJ’s in the Capital Region. No word yet on when the store will actually be built. [Albany Business Review]

⭐️ 🇺🇲 Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer season, but this cold, damp weather is definitely not putting us in a sunny mood 🌧️ We can at least get out and watch a parade in honor of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Find a Memorial Day event in your area here. Free.

☕️ In honor of Memorial Day, Ben Thanh Vietnamese Bistro in Watervliet, the Capital Region’s newest Vietnamese restaurant, is offering a free Vietnamese coffee to all veterans and active military on Monday.

⭐️ 💀 Postponed last week due to weather, the Schenectady Nightmare Market is popping up on Saturday night. With an 80% chance of rain, however, it may still be appropriately dark and stormy for this Halloween-in-May night market. Free.

⭐️ 🌳 The Capital Region’s first holographic theater, Zone 518, opens for the Memorial Day weekend at Slip 12 in Albany. Take a walk on the fantastical side, meet dinosaurs and dragons, and stroll through magical gardens. The first 518 customers will get a special “wormhole” pin. Read our preview of Zone 518 here. Tix $24-$39 per person; various times.

⭐️ 🖼️ Art in the Park is Saratoga’s annual outdoor market celebrating arts and crafts from vendors across the area. Let’s hope the weather cooperates—if not, the rain date is next Saturday, May 31. Free.

⭐️ 🤠 Put on yer cowboy boots for Honky Tonk Dance Night at No Fun in Troy. A collab between Byrdhouse Records and Hey Greasy!, this evening offers Texas 2-step lessons at 6-7p, and dancing starting at 7:15p—until you run out of gas.

🎟️ MORE NOTABLE EVENTS

TODAY

👨‍🎨 The Albany Institute of History & Art hosts a book signing with Americans Who Tell the Truth artist Robert Shetterly. 1:30-3:30p, free.

🖼️ At 6p, Shetterly’s portrait of activist Dr. Alice P. Green will be unveiled at the Alice Moore Black Arts and Cultural Center. This special addition to the Americans Who Tell the Truth exhibit was commissioned by Albany Institute curator Diane Shewchuk.

🏡 Troy’s annual Hidden Garden Tour kicks off today at 4p. The self-guided tour is rain or shine, so don’t forget your ☂️

👕 The Shirt Factory’s Market & Food Truck Corral rolls into Glens Falls on Thursday.

🥕 Join the push for healthier communities at the South End Night Market.

🎪 Bring the kids to the Gillette Carnival at Viaport Rotterdam through Monday.

🎙️Opera Saratoga’s Summer Festival runs through June 29.

FRIDAY

🌱 The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center in Albany is putting down strong roots for the summer—and you can help! From 9a–1p, put on your garden gloves and help tuck seedlings and starter plants into the ground.

SATURDAY

💃 Have you ever wanted to do some pole dancing in the park? Then you’re in luck because Albany’s Pole in the Park will have experts on hand to show you exactly how to do it without hurting yourself 🤣 Sat-Sun, Washington Park, free.

🍷 Also this weekend, the Hudson Berkshire Wine & Food Fest takes over the Columbia County Fairgrounds.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 If you’re up for the drive, the 3rd Annual Breadalbane Scottish Gathering & Games is taking place at Great Sacandaga Brewing Company in Broadalbin, NY.

🎲 Lark Hall presents Social Night—an evening of board games, cards, and vinyl classics.

🚘️ The 5th Annual Wheels & Meals Car Show is also Saturday in Round Lake. Apparently, there’s gonna be a muffler rapping contest 🎤

SUNDAY

🕰️ The Upstate Oddities Market comes to the Concordia Club in Gloversville.