Our latest exhibit, “The United States Maritime Service Training Station at Bayboro Harbor – St. Petersburg, FL” is on view through August 2024.
The United States Maritime Service Training Station (USMSTS), now known as the Marine Science Laboratory (MSL) building, is nestled along Bayboro Harbor on the southeast corner of the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus.
This exhibit delves into the history of the USMSTS facility from site selection in 1939 through the creation of USF’s St. Petersburg campus in 1965.
Display cases in the Gallery and on each level of the Library feature archival materials from the facility’s days as a Merchant Marine Training Station and as Florida Presbyterian College (now Eckerd College)’s interim campus, until USF’s “Bay Campus” was established in St. Petersburg. While the USMSTS building has changed hands over the last 85 years, it persists to this day as a venue for marine-oriented specialized and higher education.
Join us Thursday, July 11, at 1pm, for a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit with Florida Studies Curator & Campus Archivist, Alexandra Vargas-Minor. Coffee, tea, and treats will be available!