Events & Dates

November 14, 2009 Chatham Marconi Maritime Center 7th Annual Meeting.
You are invited to the Seventh Annual Meeting of CMMC and then to the Marconi/RCA Wireless Receiving Station for a restoration celebration ceremony and tour.
9:00    At the Chatham Community Center: Coffee, showing a Marconi/RCA Station Slideshow and
           Education Display
9:30    Annual Meeting 
 Welcome - Chuck Bartlett, CMMC President
 Secretary's report - Ed Moxon
 Treasurer's report - Len Magnusson
 Nominating Committee's report and election of officers and board - Roz Coleman
 CMMC Accomplishments - Chuck Bartlett
 Vision for the Future of CMMC - Rob Leiden
10:15   Preview of Exhibit Design: From Wondercabinet to Wireless Cape Cod - Sari Boren and
            Michelle Jarvis, Wondercabinet Interpretive Design, Inc.
11:00   Historic Restoration of the Marconi/RCA Buildings, recognition of those who helped save the
            National Register site - Frank Messina
After Meeting at 12 noon, weather permitting, a Celebration at the Marconi/RCA Site off Route 28 in N. Chatham - Frank Messina
The Chatham Historical Commission will lead a ceremony to unveil the historic plaques on the Operations Building and Hotel and commemorate the completion of the exterior historic restoration of four buildings accomplished with Community Preservation Act funds.  After the ceremony everyone is invited to tour the newly restored exteriors of the Marconi Station buildings.
(Parking is limited on the Marconi Campus. Please carpool and park at Ryder's Cove Town Landing or take a shuttle van from the Community Center provided by The Chatham Council on Aging and Monomoy Community Services.)

6/2/2009
Warrent Article for Negotiating a Lease with Town Approved at the Town Meeting
Voters at Chatham's May Town meeting unanimously approved the warrant article to authorize the Selectmen to negotiate a lease with CMMC for the Operations Building. The Article becomes effective on July 1, the start of FY 2010 for the Town. We expect to sign the lease in July. Meanwhile, there are a number of initiatives underway to prepare for our opening of the Center in the summer of 2010. The Building Committee under Frank Messina has issued a Request for Proposals for architectural services to help us with plans for the interior space that will minimize the changes we need to make to the building. The Exhibits Committee, under Read Moffett's guidance, has mailed out a Request for Proposals for a design firm to help us design our exhibition space and visitor experience. The Education Committee, under Barbara Waters' leadership, is organizing a project this summer with teachers at the Chatham schools to create material for CMMC's educational outreach. More on these initiatives in the weeks ahead.

Chuck Bartlett, President, Chatham Marconi Maritime Center

5/1/2009
Contruction Begins on the Marconi/RCA Receiving Station
   The recent arrival of construction equipment on the Marconi/RCA campus marks a giant step forward toward achieving our goal of opening a museum and educational resource center at the Operations Building in the summer of 2010.  Restoration of the grounds and the exterior of the buildings have begun! The Town of Chatham, using $870,000 of Community Preservation funds, will restore the exteriors of the four buildings on the site. S.O.M. Construction Enterprises of Dudley, Mass. submitted the winning bid for the work - a bid which came in nearly $100,000 under what the town of Chatham had calculated during healthier but costlier economic times last year. This project is expected to be completed by early July. The Marconi site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and S.O.M. Construction is certified by the state of Massachusetts to perform historic preservation work.

            In this first phase of work, the exterior of the four buildings on the property will be addressed, including new roofs, repaired windows, repointing bricks, and any other structural concerns that may crop up. When the U.S. Navy operated the radio station during WW2, a wooden addition was hastily added due to the critical intelligence gathering mission of the North Chatham site.  However, a recent inspection of this wing revealed serious structural defects and the decision was made to remove it.  The upside of this change is that the Operations Building will return to its original appearance when Marconi had it built in 1914.

            The second phase of the restoration project, which will be funded entirely by CMMC, will address the interior space of the historic building.  CMMC has commenced a capital campaign to raise the funds necessary for converting the Operation Building into a museum that will be open to the public 14 months from now.  To date we are halfway toward our goal of raising $600,000.  At Chatham’s annual Town Meeting on May 11th, voters will be asked to approve a warrant article which will authorize the town to enter into a long-term lease agreement with CMMC. 

            The Town’s consultant, Alan McClennen, has been instrumental in getting the restoration started on the Marconi property. CMMC’s Exhibits Committee has made significant progress in planning the creation of the Marconi Museum and identifying the stories that our exhibits will tell. And CMMC’s Building Committee is working with local contractors to develop a cost effective plan for the interior restoration that will meet our museum needs and satisfy the Town’s health and safety requirement.

            These are exciting and rewarding times for CMMC as we see at last the first tangible fruits of our seven years planning and the progress that is now underway at the historic Marconi campus. 


(Material for this article was put together by Bob Moss.)