Mystic Seaport Museum Charts Massive Renovation Project

MYSTIC, CT — Mystic Seaport Museum is planning a $15-million renovation project. The project will covert a section of the historic Rossie Mill into "a dynamic, publicly accessible, exhibition hall highlighting the Museum’s collection of historic small boats," according to a statement from the museum.

Dubbed the American Watercraft Collection, the exhibit will replace part of the museum currently used as a storage facility.

The exhibition will be curated by "longtime cultural institutional leader" Pieter Nicholson Roos and "will capture the progression of American nautical innovation, showcasing the unique social history of each vessel and revealing the scope of the extensive collection to the public for the first time," according to the statement.

The Wells Boat Hall will exhibit over 100 vessels, estimated to be the largest small craft and engine collection in the world. The exhibition will feature the first vessel acquired by the Museum, Annie, a 1931 sandbagger. It will span 182 years, from an indigenous dugout canoe to a modern-day Mini Transat racer.

“We are delighted to bring the American Watercraft Collection out of storage and into the public eye for our visitors and supporters,” Peter Armstrong, president and CEO of Mystic Seaport Museum, said in a statement. “This renovation not only increases the size of our accessible campus but also allows us to unravel the stories that lie within these amazing vessels.”

The exhibition will feature the "stories of vessels... from labor to leisure, from adventure to commerce, and beyond." These stories include the Analuisa, a fishing boat used by Cuban refugees to escape to Florida in the summer of 1994, and Tango, the first boat pedaled across the Atlantic that holds the record as the fastest human-powered transatlantic crossing, completed in 40 days by Connecticut resident Dwight Collins.

Wells Boat Hall will be in the historic Rossie Mill, which was built in 1898 as a velvet factory and once the largest employer in Mystic. The 35,000-square-foot warehouse will be renovated to include a new and ADA-compliant visitor entrance with a columned canopy, a new roof reflecting design typical of New England mill towers, and a fully integrated exhibition space, according to the statement.

The American Watercraft Collection is scheduled to open to the public in fall 2025.