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 The comments,
suggestions, and ideas below were volunteered by participants in the
May 9 workshop over a period of roughly two hours, which opened with
the showing of a 30-minute video on the Chesapeake Bay Maritime
Museum as a stimulus to discussion. The session was
facilitated, and several basic questions were posed to the group as
a starting point. These are indicated in bold type or use the
links above.
It was also explained to
participants in advance that there were no “good” or “bad”
ideas, and that there would be no attempt to vote on any proposal or
reach consensus at this time. In other words, this listing of
comments and ideas—which were recorded in no special
order—should be understood as a measure of local interest in
the concept of a Florida Gulf Coast Maritime Museum, and a beginning
point for further discussion and action.
What should the
unifying central goal of this initiative be?
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Comprises environmental, social, and historic values plus vision
for the future
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Offers visitors a chance to see an entire way of life
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Serves as a clearinghouse of real personal stories
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Could offer a “living history” enactment
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Could take advantage of grants available through
Big Bend Scenic Byway project for Funding
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Opportunity to help preserve the history and heritage of the region,
while also maintaining a focus on protection of the environment
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Museum could provide science background
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Identify and respect the “sense of place”
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Combine industrial history with pre-European history of the area
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Decide how broadly or narrowly to define “Gulf Coast”
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In scope, think big, with historic links extending east from New Orleans
all along Gulf Coast
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Include shrimping industry from Key West throughout the
whole state of Florida
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Breadth of scope could open more funding sources
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How broadly should we define “maritime?”
Would “worm gruntin’” be included?
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Should the museum try to cover the whole Gulf of Mexico?
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What features should such a museum offer?
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A good hands-on education on coastal way of life
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Museum should seek to involve the whole family
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Include aquariums like the existing Gulf Specimen Lab in Panacea
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Have fishermen and women share their own personal and family stories
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Highlight events related to coastal life
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Serve as the “voice” of fishing tradition and local families
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Could include programs, presentations, research by nearby universities
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Offer meeting space for local groups
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Caution: don’t make initial plans so large that nothing ever gets done
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Many activities should be available
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Is there any possibility of obtaining local donation of land on salt marsh
adjacent to Woolley Park?
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Consider the experience of Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the founding
of a major new aquarium helped revitalize an entire urban area that had
slipped into decline
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The aquarium generated a great tourism response and led to the founding
of many related small businesses
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Best of all, it was all done with private funding, which proved much
faster and easier to obtain than government grants
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One feature in Chattanooga was the “recycling” of an old bridge with
a scenic view for use as an event site
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The Panacea Waterfronts Florida Committee has already projected
a facility at Rock Landing Road, where people could buy seafood,
offering jobs to local fishermen
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The Pike Street Seafood Market in Seattle is another example of a highly
popular and successful site for commerce linked to tourism, based on the
fishing industry
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Could the theme be “fish tails” or “fish tales?”
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Could have an artists’ site with space to display works at motels, and also
a public meeting room
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Plan some major event to stimulate Gulf-wide thinking
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Could be a “Common Gulf Fair,” with themes including
sustainable fisheries, etc.
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Could become a major revenue source for entire area
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Poetic idea to “share the Gulf”
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Be sure to maintain “sense of place” in design, not too slick or too modern
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What partnerships would be important in this project?
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Could have many aspects: land developers in Panhandle, offering potential
of land swaps, etc., or donations
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Good proximity to major universities as partners, also to State Capitol,
agencies, and legislators
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Start soon soliciting donations of maritime artifacts from local community
before they are lost
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Would help spread the word widely
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Boats, anchors, nets, and other “things” capture the local flavor
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Need to involve local fishing groups (coop) as partners in planning,
also Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC),
and other agencies
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How did the International Game Fishing Facility in Florida get started?
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“Museum” may be a bad name, need something to suggest much broader
and inclusive themes
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How about “Maritime Center” or something similar?
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Remember the link along the Gulf Coast all the way to Pensacola
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Might help to sponsor a design competition for name and logo,
to stimulate public interest
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Work with school districts and get kids directly involved
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Could there be a Panacea Junior Museum?
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Involve the Senior Center, Rotary Club, Tallahassee Community College
(could do interviews of local citizens on tape)
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Good example of an annual event can be found in Duval County
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What are the opportunities for job creation?
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Could find new ways to apply old skills of boat builders and fishermen
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Lots of young people also would be interested
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Could have guided tours to other related sites along the coast
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Make a list of the professions of “Panacea’s past life,” and seek out
individuals who lived it
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Maybe use the name “Living Maritime Museum?”
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Museum programs would encourage students to learn the history of the
area in order to be able to teach/interpret it to others
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This would be a good way to keep young people here through internships,
with opportunities to develop new skills and pursue their own interests
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Could apply all Marine Science skill sets in museum programs
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Have an “Old Home Town” program with a historical tour of homes,
neighborhoods, etc.
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Students could get academic credit for scholarships
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Get the local drama club involved in historical re-enactment
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Plan evening events with catering, parties to attract wide range
of local interests
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The San Carlos group “captures” tourists and “sentences” them to tour
seafood processing facilities, old coastal homes, etc.
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Could foster many associated business opportunities
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Hand-built wooden boats are very popular, and the skills are still there
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The last operating oyster house in this area was recently bought
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What are the opportunities for tourism and revenue
generation through the museum?
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Elderhostel tours are increasingly popular
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Use websites to publicize the museum (Wakulla County has its own
and the Tourist Development Council is already on it)
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VISIT FLORIDA would definitely be interested, but would expect that
lodging and shops attractive to tourists would accompany the museum
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Be sure that local people (in shops, restaurants, gas stations, etc.)
know and are able to describe everything the museum does, when asked
by visitors
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The natural resources or the area are great, but there is a definite need
for improved tourism infrastructure
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Hiking, birding, kayaking, fishing opportunities are all readily at hand
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Need small bed-and-breakfasts to attract tourists, but they have to be
run by friendly and helpful owners
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Also should aim to have music, entertainment, souvenir shops, and
art galleries available for tourists
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Perhaps run boat trips, for example from Dickerson Bay to the Lighthouse
in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
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Do a strategic plan for the museum based on the economic value
of nature-based tourism
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Build new motel designed to attract eco-tourism, and earn more tourist
dollars for the area
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Some charter fishing guides have already started to run birding trips to
meet demands of tourists (there may not always be fish to catch, but there
are always birds to watch)
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Any new motel in this area will have to depend on expanded
eco-tourism to survive
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Hire fishermen as guides, since they know the coastal waters better
than anyone else
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Organize brief cruises to other Gulf Coast destinations, for example,
the underwater archeology museum at University of West Florida
in Pensacola
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Tie all the programs into local history and work with the mural program
now getting under way in Panacea, as well as the
Wakulla County Historical Society, etc.
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Don’t think only of national and international tourists as targets,
remember that there are lots of tourists from other parts of
Florida who would be attracted
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Boat tours are always great fun for young and old alike
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What are some possibilities for site location?
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The best choice would be somewhere close to the Panacea Visitors Center
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There are still some properties, perhaps several, available along
the coast in Panacea that might be suitable (in the Rock Landing Road area)
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It will be important to have direct and supportive links with the
Panacea Visitors Center, Gulf Specimen Aquarium, Panacea Marina,
and other facilities that are already in place, to involve the whole community
in the project
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Consult DOT aerial photographs of the coast and property appraisers’
maps to narrow down site options
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Are we thinking of the museum as modular, with several sites in nearby
locations, or self-contained at one site?
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Probably best to conceive of several sites, including existing facilities,
linked by walkways or golf cart rides
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Associated business opportunities could develop at each site over time
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How can we incorporate green building practices and an
Environmental Management System (EMS)?
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We should consult guidelines for Green Lodging Certification
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Since the coastal area is subject to storm and hurricane hazards, how
severe a limitation would that be for siting and constructing a museum?
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Probably would only apply if there were new permanent residences involved
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Might private funding be required because of restrictions in
a Comprehensive Plan?
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Can anyone explain an EMS?
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It can best be understood as a process of management and tracking for
continuous environmental improvement, e.g., recycling of wastes,
conservation of water and energy, use of native landscaping, etc.
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This museum would present a great opportunity to demonstrate green
building practices
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Choice of non-polluting and recyclable materials, and design compatible
with coastal climate, would be of key importance
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Always useful to remodel or restyle old buildings that represent the history
of the area, and that can be done tastefully to accommodate any use
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Adapt and re-use old materials whenever possible
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Announce the goal of establishing a model Environmental Management
System at the start, since this would be an “extra bonus” in the
construction of the museum
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Consider the building under construction at Indian River Lagoon on
the A1A Scenic Byway as a comparable example
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Remember that buildings themselves can teach
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University faculty and graduate students (for example, in FSU and FAMU
architectural programs) could assist with designs and projections while the
museum is in a planning mode, and their sketches and drawings could
become a valuable tool for fundraising
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Develop civic pride and a sense of local ownership of the museum at
the outset, perhaps through a “vision fair” with the whole community invited
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FAMU architectural students are already helping in Panacea with designs
for Woolley Park, a “gateway” to Panacea, streetscaping
and landscaping, etc.
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There will always be some fear of change on the part of people
in the community,but that can be mitigated through the use of
attractive visual images
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Real estate prices are likely to rise in the area of the development, and
some residents may be forced out…how can this loss be balanced
against future gains?
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How much affordable housing is now available in Panacea, and how much
is projected (and where) for the future?
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Design charettes can be held to engage citizens in long-range planning
for the museum
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There is no “secret plan” for a Florida Gulf Coast Museum waiting
to be revealed…this workshop is just the first of many attempts to get
people to share their ideas for planning
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In this project, remember that “they” is really “us”
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We need to invite many others to share their thoughts
as we move ahead
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Don’t depend only on group meetings because some people
will never show up
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Plan on using websites and the Tallahassee Community College
Comcast Channel, for example, to get broader input
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Beware…others might move to pre-empt sites in Panacea if the idea of
a museum goes public before it is clear this is a community-wide effort
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