Hammer Museum 19-foot hammer sculpture

Haines, Alaska, United States

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The Hammer Museum at 108 Main Street, Haines, Alaska, has a giant hammer outside that it calls its landmark 20-foot hammer. The museum says it installed the hammer in 2007 and describes it as 19 feet 8 inches; the Chilkat Valley News called it nearly 20 feet tall. In October 2024 the museum began raising funds to replace the hammer's deteriorating handle, and its website now says the hammer is back on Main Street. The museum opened in 2002 and describes itself as the world's first museum dedicated to the history of the hammer.

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Hammer Museum 19-foot hammer sculpture

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Site-level location · 59.2352° N, 135.4441° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Haines, Alaska, has a museum about hammers, and a hammer nearly 20 feet tall outside.

The Hammer Museum at 108 Main Street says it opened in 2002 and calls itself the world's first museum dedicated to preserving the history of the hammer. It describes six galleries with more than 2,500 hammers.

The museum's history page says its founder completed the giant hammer and installed it in front of the museum in July 2007, and describes it as a 19-foot-8-inch claw hammer. According to that page, the original handle was made from a 26-inch-diameter spruce log and the head from styrofoam and fiberglass. The museum's home page calls it the museum's landmark 20-foot hammer, and the Chilkat Valley News called it nearly 20 feet tall.

In October 2024 the Chilkat Valley News reported that the museum was seeking funds to replace the hammer, because the wood at the base of the handle was deteriorating; the founder pulled a handful of damp, deteriorating pieces from inside the handle. The museum's website says the landmark hammer is back on Main Street.

The museum is seasonal. Its website gave September 19 as the last day of the 2026 season, with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and says it opens for research and by appointment from October to April.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

At the Hammer Museum, 108 Main Street, Haines. The hammer is outside the museum entrance and can be seen from the street; the museum is open daily mid-May to mid-September and by appointment October to April.

ACCESS

Outdoor sculpture at the museum entrance on Main Street. Museum admission is not needed to view the hammer from the street (not independently confirmed); museum hours are seasonal.

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