The outside of a building owned by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is starting to take shape.
Work is starting on the future Captain Carus Garden Plaza, which will be part of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum Heritage Center.
Executive Director Kevin Cullen tells Seehafernews.com that the museum has owned the building for 20 years as a place to store artifacts they’ve collected.
After securing funding, they can now turn the exterior into an educational space featuring their artifacts.
“Really by fall here, you’re going to see most of that garden completed,” he anticipated. “We’re looking to do a ribbon cutting though in likely mid-June of next year with the Rotary Club, the Manitowoc Noon Rotary Club.”
One of the biggest things you’ll notice outside the Heritage Center is an anchor that comes from the SS Milwaukee Carferry.
Cullen says the museum has many artifacts recovered from the shipwreck.
“That speaks to the maritime collection we care for,” he explained. “Over 10,000 shipwreck artifacts from over 40 shipwrecks in Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes. And that’s really reflective of what’s happening inside the building.”
Cullen says the next phase of the project will include state grant funding to renovate the interior and exterior of two bays of the heritage center.
But the Wisconsin Maritime Museum still needs to approve a contractor.
Cullen reminded residents that the museum is trying to complete the multi-million-dollar project in a logical, phased approach.
“We have to be careful of how much we are biting off, and we’re doing it in a controlled, logical way,” he stated. “As those grants are available, as donors step forward, and new opportunities arrive.”
Work will continue on the new Captain Carus Garden Plaza, along with some exterior revitalization, as the year comes to an end.
More information about the Wisconsin Maritime Heritage Center can be found at wisconsinmaritime.org.
