Boating Museum article – EDITED 9.4.07

Major New Site Being Developed for the New Jersey Museum of Boating

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brick, NJ -- It’s not every day that a major new museum has its groundbreaking in New Jersey. The new home for the New Jersey Museum of Boating may just launch the Garden State into the forefront of those boasting important maritime museums.

In just seven years, this compact museum has attracted more than 10,000 – 15,000 visitors, including maritime aficionados, history buffs, and numerous school groups. Currently housed at historic Johnson Brothers Boat Works in Point Pleasant, the museum’s enormous collection fills every inch of its 2000-square-foot space, not counting the antique vessels in storage.

“The museum was started with the idea of featuring all boats built in New Jersey,” explains museum President Robert O’Brien.

The revamped New Jersey Museum of Boating will reside right on Barnegat Bay, as part of a new park in development at Traders Cove. Costs for the project are estimated to run around $12 million and construction is set to begin in 2008, with the hopes of opening the new museum in 2009.

Keeping with the aim of expanding and preserving a historic maritime district, architect Ben Kracauer, of the New York firm Archimuse, put a design in place to entice nautical and design buffs alike. Kracauer, the Curator of the Bay Head Historical Society, has extensive experience in museum and gallery design, with past projects including the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach, the Philips Museum of Art at Franklin & Marshall College, and the Hudson River Museum.

The first of the museum’s two buildings will be modeled after the state’s ornate, Victorian Lifesaving Station #10, which was located in Bay Head and served as a showpiece for the U.S. Lifesaving Service, predecessor to the Coast Guard.

The second will replicate the Centennial Lifesaving Station of Cape May – but with a modern twist. The circa 1876-style building will be raised on a platform, allowing for a terrace with panoramic views of the bay. The exterior of the platform will be clad with a vertical garden, enhancing the building’s relationship with its natural environs, which include land protected as part of the Edwin B. Forsyth National Wildlife Refuge. The museum will incorporate green design elements, with the expressed intent of minimizing impact while highlighting the beauty of the region.

“When you think about it, sailboats are a great model for sustainability,” notes Kracauer. The museum will utilize both wind and geothermal energy.

Like New Jersey, the museum will be surrounded by water on three sides. About half of the funds for the project will be put toward a conservancy to help develop new programming and exhibits. In addition to greatly expanded gallery space, the museum will feature boat-building classes, a museum shop and clam bar, and a state-of-the-art 120-seat theater.

It’s an ambitious project that makes sense given the importance of boating to both the state’s and nation’s history.

“People think of New Jersey as the Garden State,” O’Brien says, “but the truth is, New Jersey has an incredible maritime tradition. Our history rivals that of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.”

For more information about the project, or to get involved, contact Robert O’Brien directly at info@woodenboatsnj.com or 732-859-4767 or 732-295-2072.