The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum on Biloxi’s Point Cadet
Biloxi’s Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, the gleaming “boat in a bottle” museum on the eastern tip of the Biloxi peninsula, has been given the highest architectural design award by the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The state AIA’s Design Awards Celebration “seeks to applaud architecture and design by bringing attention to all components of the program through an event which highlights the art in the architectural profession.”
The museum received an Honor Award, the highest level awarded by the panel of jurors, during the state chapter’s annual convention Nov. 5 in Jackson.
The presentation actually included two Honor Awards: a Merit Award and a Citation. Accepting the award on behalf of the museum was Robin Krohn David, the museum’s Executive Director; Daria Pizzetta, AIA, the lead architect from H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture; and Walter T. Bolton, AIA, the local architect from WTBA.
The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum opened its new facility in August 2014.The new building replaces the historic Point Cadet U.S. Coast Guard Barracks, which was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.
The premier artifact of the Museum is the sloop Nydia, built in Biloxi in 1896. The Nydia measures 30 feet long and 40 feet high with her mast raised. The main gallery is designed around the boat; the use of glass as the primary enclosure of the main gallery creates a “ship in a bottle” effect, letting the Nydia be visible from the exterior especially when dramatically lit at night, to attract visitors to the Museum. Other smaller boats are suspended in a triple-height gallery adjacent to the main gallery stair, allowing visitors to view all of the vessels from multiple angles.
The museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the maritime history and heritage of Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
