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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 J U LY 8 , 2 0 1 9 Maritime museum exceeds fundraising goal for campus makeover B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f B A T H — Maine Maritime Museum has raised $3.37 million for a renovation that's underway, designed to make the campus more attractive and more easily accessible for visitors. The fundraising campaign exceeded its goal by $35,000, the museum said in a press release. "The 'First Impressions' project ensures the excel- lent visitor experience will start as soon as they enter the parking lot," said Executive Director Amy Lent, who has led the museum since 2006. "Maine's maritime heritage is critically important to the state culturally and economically, and deserves the best representation we can provide." The renovation encompasses a complete redevel- opment of the front entrance and south side of the museum's campus to enhance the visitor experience, create an ecologically friendly and attractive landscape, and improve handicapped accessibility. It's being called the "First Impressions" project. The project caps a seven-year effort to upgrade and improve the museum, which dates to 1962 and since 1975 has been on the site of the historic Percy & Small Shipyard. It attracts 50,000 visitors a year. In 2012, on the museum's 50th anniversary, the museum installed a full-sized sculpture evoking the six-masted Wyoming, a schooner that was built roughly on that site in 1909, when it was Percy & Small. In 2014, it built the Kenneth D. Kramer Blacksmith Shop, to demonstrate to visitors how marine hardware was made. In 2015, it renovated the state's largest lobster- ing exhibit, "Lobstering & the Maine Coast." In 2017, it opened the lighthouse exhibit, "Into the Lantern: A Lighthouse Experience." In 2017–18, it acquired and restored the 1906 schooner Mary E, the last remain- ing wooden schooner built in Bath. Bath Iron Works, just north of the museum on Washington Street, builds steel-hulled ships for the Navy, but trade in the city's wooden schooners fizzled out in the early 1900s. 'First Impressions" makeover For the campus renovation, Richardson & Associates, a commercial landscape architecture firm in Saco, cre- ated the design and Crooker Construction of Topsham is managing the project. Phase 1 began in March and should be done by mid-July. The main parking lot was filled to become nearly level with the main entrance, eliminating the need for front steps, and was reconfigured to provide ample handicapped space. A new concrete arrival plaza at the main entrance includes an inlaid map of the Kennebec River from Moosehead Lake to the mouth of the river at Popham. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E M A R I T I M E M U S E U M A $3.37 million renovation of the front entrance and south side of Maine Maritime Museum's campus is underway. The arrival plaza, seen here, is due to be completed in mid-July. Get in touch with your local Maine credit union, and own it. One Moment Can Make a Difference. It's the moment you go from hopeful entrepreneur to business owner. Just like you, a credit union is a local business. One that has the recipe to make your job easier. Along with conveniences like mobile banking, online banking, and remote deposit capture, Maine's credit unions offer low fees, favorable rates, and personal service you can depend on every day. It's Your Moment.

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