The McGraw Gallery Quadrangle is now open for visitors to enjoy. On Wednesday, July 8, the last bit of sod was set in place and the construction fence was moved back to reveal the new landscaping. The area that was previously known as Anchor Circle has been reconfigured into a quadrangle with the Stillman, Wendell, Mallory, and R.J. Schaefer Buildings and the Greenmanville Church facing three of the sides. The fourth side is the site of the new Thompson Exhibition Building, which is under construction. A temporary construction fence with imagery from the Museum’s Sea History Alive campaign will border the north side until the building’s completion in fall 2016.
It will be some weeks before the sod takes root, but once that happens visitors will be able to walk, sit on, and generally enjoy the green.
In addition to the landscaping, the project involved significant upgrades to the surrounding buildings. In particular the R. J. Schaefer Building has a new climate control system to support the coming “Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude” exhibit from the National Maritime Museum, London. That exhibit opens on September 19. Other new exhibits line the Quad as well: “Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers” and the Benjamin F. Packard Ship’s Cabin opened last month in the Stillman Building, and “Modern Masterpiece: 30 Years of the Museum Purchase Award” opened earlier this spring in the P.R. Mallory Building.
