ST. MICHAELS—The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is inviting the public to view preliminary sketches of its next permanent exhibition building during an open house Wednesday, January 22, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the museum’s Steamboat Building.
The museum’s next exhibition explores one of the most dramatic aspects of Bay history—the explosion of recreation and the changes that came with it. The waterfront building, designed by Bill Drewer of Quinn Evans|Architects, will house exhibits organized around a series of themes depicting how the Chesapeake has changed from a place of work to a place of play. The building itself will be constructed of wood siding and a red metal roof, reflecting the exterior features of many existing structures in and around St. Michaels.
The building’s architects and museum administrators will be on hand during the informal open house. Light refreshments will be served.
Sketches of the building reveal a structure that will compliment other buildings on the museum’s Navy Point campus. While the next design phase may include minor changes inside and outside the exhibition, the main structure is approximately 65 feet wide, 85 feet long, and has a sharply-pitched roof line reaching 34 feet at its highest point. The building “footprint” covers an area of roughly 5,200 square feet, making it about 10 percent smaller than permitted under a variance granted by the town.
A special feature of the building is a second-story deck which will permit visitors to the museum grounds unique perspectives of the campus, the Miles River, Fogg’s Cove, and St. Michael’s Harbor.
The exhibit building will be erected beside the existing Small Boat Shed. But unlike its neighbor, the new structure will not be rectangular in shape. “The building was designed from the inside out,” said museum President John R. Valliant,” with the exhibit and the visitor experience being the driving force.”
The new building will allow greater public and handicapped access to the waterfront throughout the year. The total project cost of the exhibit is estimated to be $3.8 million and is funded by the museum’s $16.3 million Campaign for Preserving the Heritage of the Bay 1997-2001. Work is expected to begin in late 2003.
Posted: 1-15-2003
