NOVEMBER 2015
Local maritime news, events and history from the Chicago Maritime Museum
Dirk Lohan
Provides Update
on Museum
The challenge of converting 9,000 square feet of open space into a compelling museum has been rigorous and rewarding for the design team, led
by renowned architect and CMM vice president, Dirk Lohan.
“Our team has been working vigorously on design for the last two
months,” says Dirk. “By the end of the month, this dusty, noisy work of
flooring, ceilings, new walls, painting, electrical and plumbing will be completely finished,”
Dirk explains that the project consists of two phases. Phase I involves building changes, including new walls, a second storage room, a kitchen, an ADA-compliant toilet, a coat closet and a
second office for future staff and a museum store. Phase 2 is the installation of museum exhibits, which will utilize two-thirds of the museum’s
space. Custom-made glass cases have already been ordered, including the special one for the
Eastland dive suit. The layout of the exhibits will be presented to the Board of Directors for
approval at a special meeting in early November. Immediately thereafter the installation will go
forward with expected completion by the end of the year.
Dirk credits Susan Golland, Robert Weiglein, Jim Jarecki, Bill Derrah and Stephen Dillon, for their
expert advice on the design of our new space.
The museum will host a grand opening party in early 2016. The actual date is to be determined.
Wisconsin Lakefront Designated Marine Sancturary
In Wisconsin, an 875-square mile
area of Lake Michigan, with waters
extending from Port Washington to
Two Rivers, was identified for possible
designation as a marine sanctuary.
The nominated area contains a
collection of 39 known shipwrecks,
15 of which are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/
oct15/proposed-designations.html
SAVE THE DATE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18
CHRISTMAS PARTY
the President’s Letter
Dear CMM Members and Patrons:
We are making great progress on the construction of our new facility. The space is almost
complete and ready for the next phase, which is building the exhibits.
Plans for Gallery One are settled and have not changed in several months. Plans for Gallery Two,
however, are still a bit fluid. We know the space will contain a Frese canoe exhibit and a war
exhibit. There are ongoing discussions about how to do that, which will be resolved soon. As we
near the finish line of building out our new space, we have started to think about staffing the
museum, which will be an ongoing conversation about positions and timing.
Fundraising continues to be a priority. While we have connected with committed partners and
sponsors, we continue to appreciate your feedback on fundraising leads in the Chicago cultural
and maritime community.
As we near our year-end, it is worth remembering that we have achieved much due to the many
volunteers who have been involved with CMM over the years. Trigg Waller, past president, is
still contributing his time and energy on the Board of Directors and is coordinating the lighting
for the museum space. Office manager, Don Glasell, has been working on collections and has
been helping Susan Golland with identification of potential items for the museum exhibit. Kath
Thomas runs great events, such as the annual meeting. Both Jim Jarecki and Bill Derrah have
been representing the Operating Board on the design committee. Mary Ann O’Rourke has been
in charge of communications, including this monthly newsletter, On the Move, the CMM website
and Facebook page. Lorraine Freeman has provided graphic design for museum signage,
brochures and the newsletter. Jim Jarecki has been managing the CMM Third Friday Open
House, which has been a great success. (We can’t wait to start Third Friday up again after the
dust settles.) The hard working Board of Directors is starting to bring in real dollars to build
the museum. The list is positively endless and I apologize to all whose names have been left
off. Without such dedication from our volunteers, our Board of Directors and the Operating
Board, we would not be making such exciting progress.
Finally, it is not too early to start thinking about renewing your membership to the Chicago Maritime
Museum. Your support helps us move forward as a viable and dynamic Chicago resource.
We hope you’re enjoying this beautiful fall.
Sincerely,
Jerry Thomas, President,
Chicago Maritime Museum
Chicago River Bridges
Book Wins Award
Patrick McBriarty’s Chicago River Bridges has
been selected as the winner of the 2015 Eugene S. Ferguson Prize, awarded
biennially by the Society for the
History of Technology.
Read more here:
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/wordpress/?p=17734
South Lakefront Parade
The Chicago Park District has been pouring in money and
improvements — over $160 million in new projects for lakefront parks south of Roosevelt Road since 2011— and it shows.
Read more here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/columnists/ct-talk-south-lakefrontbrotman-1019-20151017-column.html
Fortieth Anniversary of SS Edmund Fitzgerald Sinking
SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that
sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the
loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 7, 1958,
she was the largest ship on North America’s Great Lakes, and
she remains the largest to have sunk there.
In commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the disaster,
the Chicago Maritime Museum offers patrons the 237-page
book, Mighty Fitz, written by Michael Schumacher for $18.
The book focuses on how the sinking happened and the
inquiries that followed. CMM also offers 40-inch-long
detailed color prints of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald that
are available for purchase and framing.
For more information, call Don Glasell at 773-376-1982.
SAVE THE DATE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18
CHRISTMAS PARTY
MARITIME EVENT CALENDAR
Check out local maritime events at the Chicago Maritime Museum website calendar page:
http://www.chicagomaritimemuseum.org/events/month/
Submit maritime events in the Chicagoland area to Mary Ann O’Rourke at
[email protected].
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We hope you’ve enjoyed our monthly e-newsletter, On the Move.
If you have a Chicago maritime story idea please
forward it to [email protected].