This museum is located in the anchor casting workshop at the docks on the Golden Horn (Halic), an area that symbolized industrialization in the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century. The anchor casting workshop was built in the era of Ahmet II (1703-1730) and the building`s foundations go back to a 12th century Byzantine construction. It was restored under Selim III and used by the Finance Ministry until 1951. After a fire in 1984, the building stood in ruins.

The Rahmi M. Koc Museum was first founded in the historical Lengerhane (Anchor Casting Building) next to the Golden Horn in the Haskoy Piri Pasha District.

Discovered by Dr. Bulent Bulgurlu during the search for an appropriate location for the Museum, Lengerhane building was then purchased by the Rahmi M. Koc Museum and Cultural Foundation. Following the rapid and effective restoration work of Garanti Koza Construction and addition of the underground Annex Exhibition building, connected by a glazed ramp, the 2,100 m2 Rahmi M. Koc Museum opened on December 13, 1994.

The first museum rapidly outgrew itself, and in November 1996 the 11,086 m2 Haskoy Dockyard, which was then nothing but a ruin on the shore of the Golden Horn opposite the Museum, was purchased. Fourteen ruins on the site were faithfully restored to their original condition, as well as the historic ship cradle and winch.

To complete the current picture, the 443 m2 plot beside the Lengerhane and the 6,670 m2 plot adjacent to the dockyard were purchased in February 2001, after a tender by the Turkish Maritime Authorities, for use as an outdoor exhibition area and carpark.

The Museum, which following restoration of the two historical buildings has 11,250 m2 of covered space on a site of 20,250 m2 was opened to the public on July 10, 2001.