It was nice to see the trees leading up to the Mariners' Museum. The ugly commercial district was close by; finding a park here was a surprise. The two lane road was following the contours of a hill, which made the woods more interesting. A sign on the side of the road said something about an art center. Maybe this was the wrong place? I found out later that there was another main gate, which led to some lonely road by the river. The whole complex is situated like this: the museum is in the middle, next to a small lake. Woodlands form a buffer around the land side of the museum, and continue from gate to gate. There is an asphalt footpath that parallels the road, with various trails leading into the woods. The lake has a small dock near the entrance to the museum, and behind the museum is a gated area, possibly a marina. There were joggers on the path that day, and watching them from my car made me want to take up running, but I never will. However, someone else with the time and motivation would benefit from the path here. Instead, I parked my car and saw nearby a towering bronze propeller the size of my house.
While en route I was thinking that this museum might be cheesy. Maybe there would be a simple monument or paintings of boats inside. Seeing the propeller silenced those doubts. Here would be a complete and satisfying collection. The entrance fee is eight dollars, an honest price for the entire afternoon. To the left was a history of boating in the area. Here were models of pre-colonial and colonial shipbuilders, small crabbing boats, a mechanical movement from a lighthouse lamp, and a large buoy. Especially interesting was an ancient steam engine, brought back to life with an electric motor. Each piece was made and assembled so well that it ran commercially for 50 years. That sort of machine making is maybe lost forever, one of many practical arts killed in the name of progress. To the right of the main entrance was a collection of artistic and military displays. Military displays included a depth-charge launcher, a mockup of a submarine's navigation room, and a 9000-pound cannon, obviously a tribute to the coke bottle. Artistic displays focused on the renaissance era, including an ornate globe missing the Americas, a scientifically accurate picture of a horseshoe crab, done in China, and what looked like a brass astrolabe. The museum has roughly two dozen ordinary model ships; in addition to these is a special exhibit of models from August F. Crabtree. He had chronicled the history of sailing ships in perfect wooden models. He used dental tools to carve out details as fine as a grain of sand and his wife sewed the sails.
The museum claims 35,000 items on display, but in addition there is actual work on-site to preserve raised sections of the historic Monitor ironclad. Sitting in vats of chemicals are the actual cannons from that ship. Archeologists nearby are working to preserve the turret for future display. These laborers were not present, but I was able to watch the actual construction of a 40-foot boat in a shed behind the museum. There was a raised walkway I could stand on inside, with railings littered with construction paraphernalia (resin, fiberglass, plywood). For somebody interested in construction this would be fascinating.
This Mariners' Museum is surely a hidden delight. It was several weeks ago that I went, but the details are fresh in my mind. Both the park and the museum have an escapist feel to them. Far away is the ugly grey of parking lots and run down apartments. The town gives way to a park with trees seemingly thick enough to get lost in. The haphazard boat building in the back really captures the warm personality of a local historical site. In the end, what makes it worth coming back to is the utter completeness of the Mariners' Museum. Missing out on this would mean missing out on something wonderful.
Here is a link to the Mariner's Museum Website.
Here is a link to a Boat Making School, quite interesting.
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