Projo Biz Blog

Donations for the new Seabees museum have dried up as the economy has soured, leaving the group with only half the money needed for a major expansion of the complex in the Quonset Business Park.

In its most recent newsletter, the veterans group says "the economy has gone into what some call a melt-down," leading to "a dramatic drop off in donations." In all, the group has raised $125,000, including a $50,000 matching grant from New Boston Fund Inc., the developers of the Quonset Gateway project. Construction of the $250,000, new Seabee Museum and Memorial Park is scheduled to begin later this year.

"The campaign to build a museum began in 1999, when the Quonset Development Corporation, the state agency that runs the park, set aside 6.5 acres for the Seabees," The Providence Journal has reported. "Volunteers cleared the site and helped secure a $329,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense that paid for transporting and reassembling seven Quonset huts, the iconic steel shelters the Seabees developed at Quonset and built throughout the world during World War II.

"Using other grants and donations, the Seabees organization has been repairing the roof of the 40-year-old Chapel in the Pines, refurbishing the 3,000-pound Fighting Seabee statue and operating a store selling Seabees memorabilia. The museum, however, has never taken shape."

 Tags  museums New Boston Fund Quonset Quonset Development Corporation Quonset Gateway Seabees veterans

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