Great Lakes museum expands in Toledo

The National Museum of the Great Lakes, once a small Vermilion museum and now a big Toledo museum, is about to get much bigger. Already a good-sized attraction that boasts a tour of a vintage Great Lakes freighter, the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, the museum recently announced it plans to add 5,000 square feet so it can offer more exhibits. Kate Fineske — the director of institutional advancement, who will become the museum's executive director at the beginning of 2024 — said the expansion will break ground in the spring. The expansion will give the museum more permanent exhibition space, room for temporary exhibits and a new Great Lakes Community Education Center. "We started planning for this growth just prior to the pandemic with an anticipated cost of around $3.8 million," Fineske explained in a news release issued by the museum. "Post-pandemic-era costs have caused that number to rise to $5.5 million and, to date, we have raised over $4 million of the necessary funds," said Fineske, who has been supporting fundraising efforts since she joined the museum in 2019. "What's more, we are extremely proud that over 75% of those funds raised are derived from sources outside of Lucas County — revenue directly benefiting the people of greater Toledo," Fineske said. The expansion project is expected to be completed by 2025. The expansion was announced at a state-of-the-museum update earlier this month. It also announced Fineske's promotion. Chris Gillcrist — the museum's executive director, who has led the museum since 1999 — will become its emeritus director, focusing on history programming. The Great Lakes Historical Society ran a small museum in Vermilion for many years, but, in 2014, it moved to its current location, 1701 Front St., in Toledo. Since 2019, a big Great Lakes freighter, the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, formerly Willis B. Boyer, has been moored next to the museum and is available for museum visitors to tour. The museum ship began operations in 1911 and ceased operations in 1980. Toledo's city government bought the ship for use as a museum and, eventually, it was moved to the site of the museum. The museum also has a tugboat, the Ohio, but the two ships are only open during warm weather months, May through October, and are closed for the winter. The museum itself remains open. Current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and also Wednesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is closed on Tuesdays. Free parking is provided. Information on admission fees and other useful information for planning a visit can be found at the museum's website, nmgl.org.