After a quarter century of tacking, the New London Maritime Society is now sailing with the wind.
Founded in 1983 with the intention of preserving the Custom House and the city’s seafaring history, the NLMS is now aspiring to be both a tourist attraction and an educational center.
“We’re not just a former government building,” said Greg Roth, chairman of the NLMS board of trustees. “We are a destination point and a museum.”
The NLMS has been accelerating its activity in the Custom House in the past year, reforming the Jibboom Club, organizing oral history projects, and serving as a venue for cribbage matches, a popular activity for whalers with downtime.
And this year, the NLMS is celebrating not only its 25th birthday, but the 175th anniversary of the construction of the Robert Mills-designed, federal-style granite building.
Susan Tamulevich, the new NLMS executive director, called it an “exciting time for the museum.”
In the coming months, the NLMS hopes to establish a memorial fund for its principal founder, Lucille Showalter.
The NLMS, which celebrated its 25th birthday at a reception last weekend, was founded with the intention of saving the Custom House, which the United States Customs Office was looking to unload.
Roth said the federal government would not sell the building to a private company; rather, it wanted to give it to a municipality.
“So the city of New London owns the building,” he said, “but the maritime society is its steward.”
According to former Mayor Lloyd Beachy, an original incorporator of the NLMS, one plan called for the Custom House to be turned into a French restaurant.
Beachy said due to the efforts of his fellow founders—the late Showalter, a history teacher, and the late attorney Frank McGuire—the NLMS formed with the plan to restore the building and convert it into a museum.
“We scrimped and saved,” he noted.
Beachy remembered with fondness working with Showalter, who died in 2000, indicating that she willed many of the NLMS projects into fruition.
“She was a marvel,” Beachy said.
After a seven-year restoration, the building reopened to the public.
Throughout the 1990s, the NLMS added items to its collection, such as the light from Ledge Light Lighthouse and old, heavy boat coats.
Beachy said many of the maritime society’s artifacts were donated by a resident of Philadelphia who was fond of New London.
In 2003, the NLMS hired its first executive director, Melodie Foster, to run the museum.
Under her direction, the Custom House staged a year-long exhibition Commerce and Contraband, which tracked the story of the building and its role in the local economy.
Roth said the building’s history will continue to be the main draw for tourists and students.
“There is a real-life element to it,” he said.
The Custom House was designed by Robert Mills, who was responsible for three of the most famous structures in Washington, D.C.: the Washington Monument, the United States Treasury Building, and the Patent Office.
“We hope to have an end-of-summer Robert Mills celebration,” Tamulevich said.
Mills also built the Custom House in Newburyport, Mass., that not only shares design elements with the New London building, but some of the problems. Roth said the roof, which was repaired in 1983, needs to be worked on yet again.
“It’s about $150,000 worth of work,” he said.
Also, the NLMS will launch a capital campaign to raise money to install ramps and elevators for the handicapped.
Tamulevich said the NLMS will reach out to area school systems too, as a destination for field trips.
The NLMS is also looking to get involved with downtown’s annual fireworks display, SailFest, by sponsoring a regatta.
“We’re calling it the Maritime Cup,” Roth said.
Roth added that Mayor Kevin Cavanagh will present the inaugural trophy after the July 13 race.
Also, the Custom House proved to be a hit with last summer’s cruise-ship tourists. Roth said the Custom House hosted receptions for the captain and bridge crew of the Explorer of the Seas.
“We hope to be a popular destination,” Roth said.
The Custom House Maritime Museum is at 150 Bank Street, New London. For more information about the New London Maritime Society, visit www.nlmaritimesociety.org or call 447-2501.