Red Hook

About Red Hook

Docks and storehouses expanded here during the nineteenth century as harbor trade grew. Later, container shipping moved much of that activity toward New Jersey. Red Hook’s streets still mix housing, manufacturing, warehouses and shops, with both working and publicly accessible stretches of waterfront.

The museum barge, the arts center and the park offer different kinds of access to that setting. They have separate entrances and visiting arrangements. Choose the places you want to enter before planning the trip, especially if the barge is your main destination.

Places to explore

• Waterfront Museum

  290 Conover Street, at Pier 44

  Aboard Lehigh Valley No. 79, displays include the captain’s living quarters and tools used by waterfront workers. Public tours follow the museum’s calendar. Its pedestrian entrance runs through a private parking lot, so use the operator’s directions to reach the barge.

  Read the NYFE place guide

• Pioneer Works

  159 Pioneer Street

  Galleries, a garden and programs bring art, science, music and technology into a nineteenth-century industrial building. The operator reports an elevator, accessible restrooms and a wheelchair-accessible garden path following its 2025 renovation. Check gallery hours and event details separately.

• Louis Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier

  Ferris Street between Coffey and Van Dyke streets

  This public park occupies former shipping waterfront. From the pier, views extend across the harbor toward the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island and Manhattan. It provides a defined public waterfront stop among the neighborhood’s industrial sites.

• Red Hook Play Center

  Bay Street at Henry Street

  The pool and bath-house complex was built in 1936 as part of the city’s WPA-era recreation program. The architecture is an exterior stop here; pool entry follows the separate seasonal rules and opening information published by NYC Parks.

  Read the NYFE place guide

Planning a visit

NYC Ferry’s South Brooklyn route serves Red Hook/Atlantic Basin. Pioneer Works also lists the B61 and the F/G at Smith–9 Sts for arrival planning. Check current schedules and the route from your stop to the venue; the ferry landing and the museum barge have different entrances.

Follow the museum’s signed approach through the parking area to Pier 44. Check its public-tour calendar and Pioneer Works’ current gallery hours before leaving. Public parks and venue entrances do not provide general access to the surrounding working piers.

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