Address: San Felipe entre calle 5ta y calle 6ta, Catedral,
Formerly the Local Post Office

The building where the museum is located was built in 1875 to be originally used as a hotel facility equipped with a monumental structure in the French style. It occupies an area of 1 239 square meters and a total building area of over 4 000 square meters.

This museum, one of the best well-attended on the Isthmus due to the subject it brings up, tries to represent this unparalleled engineering achievement through state-of-the-art methods. It was a daring and excellent work that was made possible thanks to an international force under the leadership of US visionary men giving rise to a century-old dream of connecting the two great oceans.

On 31 December 1999, at midday, Official Eastern Time, the Republic of Panama assumed full responsibility for the management, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal. Panama fulfils its duties by means of a governmental entity called the Panama Canal Authority, created through the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama and governed by Law 19 of 11 June 1997.

The Panama Canal Authority is the autonomous entity under the Panamanian Government that is responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of this master piece.

The museum offers a historical and contemporary overview of the canal to its visitors. Agreements have been signed with the Water Arakawa Museum in Japan as well as other related entities in the United States.

As part of its strong relations, courses and seminars on museum matters have been held in cooperation with Louvre Museum; the National Museum Management under the Ministry of Culture in France; the Latin-American Museum Institute (LAMI); the Spanish Government’s International Cooperation Institute; the Saragossa Museum; the Embassy of the United States of America; the University of Panama; the Knowledge City Foundation; the New Eiffel Tower Exploitation Society; Scotland’s National Archives and National Library, among other entities, and thus constantly revitalizing the raison d’ệtre of all that is being shown in this beautiful building.