KMM Museum Building Plans

As most people in Kodiak know, Kodiak Maritime Museum is still a "museum without walls." In response to that, in late 2009, Kodiak Maritime Museum applied for and was accepted into the Foraker Group's Pre-Development Program. The Pre-D Program helps Alaskan non-profits plan for capital building projects and is funded by the Rasmuson Foundation, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, the Denali Commision, and the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Last year the museum identified a museum building of its own as the top priority in the KMM Strategic Plan. A maritime museum in Kodiak would house artifacts, educate the public, and preserve the maritime history of Kodiak though interpretive programs and permanent exhibits.

Proposed Museum Sites

Over the past several years, KMM has considered several possible building sites, but a lack of funds to purchase a site has kept the project on hold. Last winter KMM approached the City of Kodiak about the possibility of using one of several possible City-owned sites for a maritime museum building. In response, the City Council directed KMM to gather input from the community regarding the building a maritime museum on one of the sites. The museum plans to meet this winter with fishermen, the Ports and Harbors Advisory Board, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, and other harbor stakeholders.

In the fall of 2011, as part of the effort to evaluate the suitability of the sites for a museum building, the Pre-Development Program sponsored an engineering report by CRW Engineering of Anchorage, which assessed the three possible sites for zoning, traffic, utilities, environmental,and geotechnical issues. The report can be viewed here:

Kodiak Maritime Museum Site Analysis Report (PDF)