The Annapolis Maritime Museum, already an integral part of the Annapolis waterfront, is expanding its campus to include the building that is home to maritime instrument company Weems & Plath.
The maritime museum just announced it acquired the 10,000-square-foot facility that is just steps away from the museum and its waterfront grounds.
Weems & Plath, Inc. has been at the site for 25 years. The 96-year-old company makes innovative, high-end nautical instruments. The company’s tent sale, which is held during the Annapolis Sailboat and Powerboat shows in October, are a popular draw in Eastport.
Weems & Plath will continue its existing lease at the site for its remaining four years. Former owner Peter Trogdon says the museum’s ownership of the space is a continuation of its longtime relationship between the two Eastport neighbors.
“The Museum, founded the same year just down the street, has been a valued neighbor from the beginning. We’ve collaborated on numerous events, including an exhibit on Captain Weems, the founder of Weems & Plath,” Trogdon says. “Over the years, the Museum purchased products from us and we shared our parking facilities for their special events. It’s wonderful to know that the Museum will continue to care for this building, using it to expand their growing exhibits and programs.”
Beginning early next year, Annapolis Maritime Museum will convert 1,800 square feet of the 10,000-square-foot building to use for the museum’s expanding collections, archives, and library.
What are the museum’s plans for the rest of the space once Weems & Plath leaves? The Board of Directors is exploring new museum exhibits, a boat-building workshop or other programming.
“This building will not only allow us to expand our collections and create new exhibits, but it also provides the opportunity to explore innovative programming that will engage our community in new and exciting ways,” says Annapolis Maritime Museum President and CEO Alice Estrada.
The museum expansion follows a trend over the past eight years or so. In 2016, it acquired the 12-acre Ellen Moyer Nature Park across Back Creek from its main campus. This environmental education campus serves over 12,000 students each year. Then in 2018, the museum acquired and restored the 75-foot historic skipjack Wilma Lee, built by legendary boatbuilder Bronza Parks, which they now use as a floating classroom and tour boat.
The Annapolis Maritime Museum is open to the public at 723 Second Street in Annapolis, site of the historic McNasby Oyster Company, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Their September Sunsets free concert series kicks off this Thursday and runs each Thursday of this month from 6 to 8 p.m.
