by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Members of the Jacksonville Maritime Museum’s planning board are looking for a new and bigger location for the museum.
“Our number one goal is to find a very large venue on the river,” said Bob Morgan, a member of the museum’s board.
The museum’s current location, at 1015 Museum Circle on the Southbank, has been too small for the organization since its birth.
“The location was never meant to be enclosed, much less a museum,” said Morgan, adding that only about 30 percent of the museum’s inventory is displayed. “The rest is in two warehouses, which are quite full right now. If we had more room you would see a much more viable museum.”
“We need a minimum of 12,000 square feet,” said Fred Sandberg, the museum’s co-founder and chairman of the board. “Right now we’re operating out of just under 2,000 square feet.”
A three-person committee has been formed to concentrate on finding a new home for the museum. One possible location is the land being developed for The Shipyard’s on East Bay Street.
A spokesperson for Jeff Spence, CEO of TriLegacy, the company developing The Shipyard’s property, said that while Spence is entertaining the issue, it is still far too early for him to make definite plans.
“The Spence family has been very warm and receptive,” said Morgan, “but with the Super Bowl coming they’ve got an enormous priority to get up and running before then.”
Another dream location for the board is the land currently occupied by the Southside Generating Station on the Southbank. Morgan said he thinks the museum will be a better use of the property than high rise condominiums.
“If people are going to live downtown they’ll need things to occupy their time,” he said.
One thing the board considers certain is that the Maritime Museum will have to be on the river.
“We’d like to be able to accommodate visiting vessels,” said Morgan. “And it just makes sense for a maritime museum to be on the water. But the City government controls a lot of the riverfront property, and any place along the river is extremely expensive.”
Funding is a major issue for the museum. Its current location doesn’t cost a lot in rent.
“We’re grateful for what we have because we pay a dollar a year for it,” said Morgan.
“We do not charge admission, and we never will,” said Sandberg, who said the museum’s funding comes mainly from its members and public contributions.
“We’re definitely looking for supporters to help finance us,” he said. “And we hope the incoming mayor is mindful of us.”