by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Maritime Museum has returned to its roots as far as location is concerned.
Established by a group of volunteers committed to collecting, maintaining and exhibiting the artifacts from the city’s rich shipping and seagoing military history, the institution’s first home was at the Landing.
Paul Ghiotto, the museum’s curator since 2007, said the museum was in a 1,700-square-foot space that was basically donated by The Rouse Company, the original developer of the property. That arrangement created some challenges for the new visitor destination.
“Every time someone wanted to lease our space, we had to move,” said Ghiotto. “After the museum had to move six or seven times, the City offered the use of that building at the south end of the Main Street Bridge.”
That location offered about 1,800 square feet of space for exhibits, a maritime library, a gift ship and an office.
Ghiotto said the search for the museum’s next location began when City planners informed the board of directors that the museum’s building at the foot of the bridge will be demolished as part of the Southbank Riverwalk renovation project.
The new space, the former Discount Pro Wear store, is about 9,000 square feet, including space for displays, a meeting room, a small theater, an office and even a little storage.
Ghiotto said moving back to the Landing and into the more expansive space will allow the museum, for the first time, to exhibit everything in its collection.
“This will keep us going. The alternative was to put everything in storage,” he said.
Having more space will also mean the museum can exhibit pieces of the collection that have been on loan for years, including several ship models currently at Mayport Naval Station and Jacksonville University.
One item that will be making a longer voyage is a model of “The Three Friends,” Napoleon Bonaparte Broward’s tugboat that he used to ferry men and weapons from Jacksonville to Cuba in 1896 and 1897 shortly before the Spanish-American War. The model is currently on display in Tallahassee in the Florida Historic Capitol Museum and won’t be shipped to Jacksonville until after Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s inauguration celebration, Ghiotto said.
Having more space that’s designed for retail will also allow Ghiotto and the volunteers arrange the displays in a way that will tell the story of Jacksonville’s maritime heritage from the days of sailing ships through the present expansion of the port and development of new marine terminals.
Most of the collection made the short trip over the Main Street Bridge last Tuesday.
Ghiotto said he expects the new, larger Jacksonville Maritime Museum will open for its first visitors the first week of January.
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