About us.

This historic building was built in 1927 and, at one time was, the Waveland Elementary School. When the building later re-opened, it became the Waveland Civic and Cultural Center. The City of Waveland owns the building and allows us to house our museum here. This was the only building left standing on Coleman Ave. and the only public building left standing in Waveland after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Our building is a historic landmark, and, to maintain this status, the building had been restored to its original design.

Waveland’s Ground Zero Hurricane Museum was opened in 2013 by cousins Lili Stahler-Murphy and Basil Kennedy. Our mission is “To develop and operate a museum to commemorate past hurricanes; to educate the public on hurricane preparedness and awareness; to become a repository for hurricane history and memorabilia from the Mississippi Gulf Coast area; to preserve and showcase the history of Waveland; and to support charitable purposes as may be determined by the Board of Directors”.

In 2021, we dedicated the museum to our late co-founder—who first had the vision for this museum—and community activist, Lili Stahler-Murphy.

We offer permanent collections and temporary exhibits.