Wisconsin Maritime Museum is renovating a 90,000-square-foot property on Franklin Street in Manitowoc for the future Wisconsin Maritime Heritage Center.
Efforts to improve the Franklin St facility have been underway since 2017 when a multiphase project began. The new center will safely and efficiently house our collections as well as engage visitors, encourage research, and enhance our community.
Preliminary work was largely grant funded by two programs with the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In 2017, a Collections Assessment for Preservation grant identified areas of greatest need for the WWM collections. The Franklin Street facility was specifically called out for improvements in the areas of climate control and an efficient storage plan.
That assessment informed an IMLS Museums for America: Collections Stewardship Program grant in 2018, to plan for the recommended improvements. With a plan laid out, the museum has continued to prepare and fundraise for implementing the renovations.
Key to this effort is a grant from the Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation, a facade restoration grant from the city of Manitowoc, as well as financial support museum donors.
In 2024, the public will see the beginning of the Maritime Heritage Plaza and Gardens, which will transform a significant portion of the old dealership lot into a public park highlighting maritime artifacts, archaeological investigations, a demonstration of green infrastructure projects, a state of the art conservation lab and a boatbuilding shop.
The Wisconsin Maritime Museum cares for a collection of nearly 20,000 objects and a substantial archive pertaining to the maritime history of Wisconsin, Manitowoc shipbuilding, and USS Cobia. This includes more than 60 boats, approximately 300 regionally-built outboard motors, and over 250 ship models. Shipbuilding tools, marine navigational equipment, naval uniforms, and maritime archaeological artifacts also make up significant and growing portions of the collections. When objects are accepted into the museum’s collection, we agree to take care of them in perpetuity. This is an ongoing commitment, and a responsibility we take very seriously.
Additionally, the museum cares for more than 10,000 Great Lakes shipwreck artifacts, curated on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, in its role as the preferred repository for recovered Wisconsin shipwreck artifacts.
