The
Northwest
Maritime
Center
on
Port
Townsend
Bay
is
about
maritime history,
boats,
and
environmental
stewardship
of
Puget
Sound.
The Northwest Maritime Center will be the place to learn about our region’s maritime heritage and the vital role Puget Sound plays in Northwest life. The Center will offer hands-on educational programs, boatbuilding demonstrations, and on-the-water activities at a state-of-the-art facility on Port Townsend Bay.
Encourage people of all ages, abilities, and economic levels to participate in activities on and near the water.
Provide a meaningful maritime cultural experience by bringing together historic vessels, maritime educational programs, and traditional and contemporary marine trades.
Showcase the marine trades as a significant player in the region’s economy.
Create an example of sustainable economic and heritage-based tourism development.
Preserve a critical waterfront parcel in a historic seaport for public shoreline access.
Awaken a sense of wonder about Puget Sound, encouraging understanding and stewardship of this region’s greatest natural resource.
Although oceans cover three-quarters of our planet’s surface and have played a vital role in world history, maritime education for American schoolchildren is practically nonexistent. The Greater Puget Sound, encompassing 2,300 miles of diverse shoreline, is this region’s largest outdoor classroom. Yet many children who grow up on the shores of Puget Sound never venture onto the water in a small boat or a vessel powered by sail. The Maritime Center provides the opportunities and structure needed to learn from the sea.
Learning about the sea reveals connections with the rest of the world.
The Puget Sound region is a microcosm of Native American culture, European exploration and discovery, settlement, industry, maritime trade and travel, U.S. Navy activity, and humanity’s adaptation to the water’s edge.
A maritime center is more dynamic than a museum, more educational than a boat shop or livery, and more authentic than pure on-the-water recreation.
There is no other place on Puget Sound to visit a small historic seaport, soak up maritime history and life, and have a saltwater adventure.
The Maritime Heritage and Resource Building, with a boat livery, chandlery, information desk, exhibition space, resource library, meeting rooms and offices.
The Maritime Education Building, with a craft demonstration area, wood shop, Discovery Lab for hands-on learning, classrooms and lookout tower.
An outdoor public commons area with a beach boardwalk, small-boat staging platform and ADA-accessible, hand-launch boat ramp.
A renovated 289-foot-long, deep-water pier with floats and mooring buoys.
School groups from the Greater Puget Sound region, with programs targeting middle-school students.
Families in search of authentic activities, which could include learning to row or sail, or building a boat together.
Regional, national, and international travelers seeking a genuine maritime visitor experience.
Teens and young adults looking for mentorships in the maritime field.
Historians and maritime enthusiasts seeking to expand their knowledge of Puget Sound’s distinguished and evolving maritime history.
Boaters in search of transient moorage, marine services, and nautical experiences ashore.
Marine tradespeople wishing to share their skills and enhance their vocational training.
The 25,000+ participants at events such as the annual Wooden Boat Festival and the Classic Mariners’ Regatta.
In partnership with other regional maritime-related organizations, the Center will offer a wide range of programs and activities that promote awareness and understanding of Puget Sound’s natural history, culture, and maritime heritage.
On-the-water programs, including community rowing, sail training, and day and overnight trips aboard historic vessels and research vessels.
Field trips for school groups.
Demonstrations of boatbuilding and other traditional hand crafts.
Interactive exhibits which facilitate hands-on, experiential learning.
Marine ecology and environmental programs.
Maritime skills classes.
Lectures and workshops for the marine trades professional.
Its location on a large saltwater bay in a natural – not urban – setting in one of only three Victorian seaports in the nation.
A focus on Puget Sound from both maritime and marine perspectives.
Commitment to serving a broad spectrum of the population – kids, families, boaters, tourists,
tradespeople.
Use of green architecture in the facility design and employment of sustainable energy technology, including photovoltaic panels and a saltwater heat pump.
Receipt of the first Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant appropriated in Washington State for brownfield cleanup.
Incorporation of an eelgrass habitat restoration project into the renovation of an existing deep-water pier.
Championship of the marine trades, which have been an economic boon to the region and have earned an international reputation for quality and craftsmanship.
Emphasis on community collaboration and partnership, through all stages of facility design and implementation.
The Wooden Boat Foundation, a nonprofit organization that since 1976 has been dedicated to maritime education and hosting the annual Wooden Boat Festival. The Foundation will be the Maritime Center’s anchor tenant.
The Alliance for Northwest Maritime Education, a group of six nonprofit organizations that fosters coordinated educational experiences for the Greater Puget Sound region.
Marine trades and marine recreational businesses that contribute to the Maritime Center’s educational mission.
The City of Port Townsend and the Port of Port Townsend.
The
total
project
cost
is $17.6
million
(including
land
acquisition,
site
cleanup,
and
development).
The
Maritime
Center,
designed
by
the
Miller-Hull
Partnership
of
Seattle,
is
due
to
open
in
the
fall of 2009.
