The Annapolis Maritime Museum will celebrate the renovation of the historic McNasby Oyster Company building with a grand re-opening ceremony on Monday, December 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. There is no charge, and refreshments and beverages will be served.
“We’re inviting the public to join all of our members and supporters to see what a beautiful asset the Museum is providing to the community,” says Museum Chairman L.B. “Buck” Buchanan. “Architect Kirby Mehrhof and the Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. have done an incredible job transforming a storm-torn oyster house into a facility that’s sure to become a world-class waterfront education center.”
The $1.2 million project was funded by the State of Maryland, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and the City of Annapolis, along with corporate and private donations, plus fund-raisers like the annual Boatyard Bar & Grill Beach Party. The 7,000-square-foot building now has an assembly hall, caterer’s kitchen, and a large exhibition gallery. Office spaces, a meeting/class room, and a curator’s workshop are still under renovation.
The key permanent exhibition, Oysters on the Half Shell, will be installed by the spring of 2010. Meanwhile the Museum’s first of a series of rotating exhibits will make its debut on December 1.
Based on the book the Museum published in October, Over the Bridge: A History of Eastport at Annapolis by Ginger Doyel, the exhibition will feature a selection from the book’s historic photographs, including the breath-taking panoramic view across Annapolis Harbor from the Eastport shore in the late 1800s. This image was digitally stitched together from three individual photographs, and will comprise one side of the four-page gatefold in the center of the book. Skipjacks and bugeye schooners can be seen hauled out on the marine railway at Heller’s boatyard in the foreground, while in the background, the familiar domes and spires of the city skyline contrast with the long-gone oyster houses and boatyards surrounding the City Dock.
There will also be a brief annual meeting for recognition of Museum volunteers, sponsors and supporters, and the election of officers for 2008.
Admission is free, but it’s important to reserve space. RSVP by calling the Annapolis Maritime Museum at 410-295-0104 or email to office@amaritime.org.