December 3, 2008
Geoff Gialdini, Chairman
Gills Rock Harbor Finance & Implementation Committee
Town of Liberty Grove
11161 Old Stage Road
Sister Bay, Wisconsin 54234-9634
RE: Gills Rock Harbor Development Project
Dear Geoff,
As you move forward with the planning for the Gills Rock Harbor development project, we believe it prudent to ensure that the Door County Maritime Museum’s interests and intentions are understood by all involved. As you may be aware, our existing museum facility in Gills Rock is aging and is in need of renovation and expansion. The Gills Rock Harbor project offers an intriguing opportunity for a partnership leading to construction of a new museum building. We are very much interested in being part of the planning process. However, final decision on a firm commitment is contingent on determining the financial viability for sustained operation of the new museum.
To aid in the planning process we offer the following initial information concerning our needs and desires:
A. The current Gills Rock museum facility is inadequate in both size and configuration to house the galleries and exhibits we believe necessary to convey the rich maritime history of the Door Peninsula to visitors and residents alike.
B. The existing location offers little or no room for expansion.
C. We desire the Gills Rock Museum to continue to preserve and celebrate areas of maritime history not adequately addressed elsewhere, including:
- The history of the Door County commercial fishing industry.
- Door County shipwrecks and underwater archeology.
- The history of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services (U.S. Life-Saving Service; U.S. Revenue Cutter Service; and U.S. Lighthouse Service) on the Door Peninsula.
- The historic role of ferries in the development of Door County and the day-to-day lives of its island residents.
- The history and development of charter and sport fishing on the Door Peninsula.
We envision a well-designed museum facility of approximately 12,000 square feet is required to house the desired galleries, exhibits, and administration/education spaces. This estimate includes space for inside display of two commercial fish tugs presently in the museum’s collection.
We believe the proposed Gills Rock Harbor development project to be an exciting opportunity. We add the caveat that the Museum presently has three other significant facilities projects in the planning stages. Funding for construction of the new Gills Rock museum facility will be a key concern. Most importantly, a clear assessment of the economic feasibility is essential.
We hope this information helps with your planning efforts. Again, we will be an enthusiastic partner in the process. If you, or others, have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to call 1-920-743-5958 or e-mail rdesh@dcmm.org.
With warm regards,
