You may have heard that we are closed to the public for the time being. So here are some of the details so you can be 'in the know'. Since August of 1988 the BROWN has been birthed at Pier One at 2020 South Clinton Street that was owned by the Maryland Port Administration. We're currently gathering more information about Pier one and Baltimore history in a later blog, but for now, we will say that we had a home, courtesy of the state of Maryland.
In 2014, Rukert bought Pier 1 (Clinton Street Marine Terminal) from the state with some provisions. Here is the link to the Sun Paper article to read more. One of those was to give the BROWN a 5 year free berthing pier. We have a great working relationship with Rukert, a company that was founded here in Baltimore in 1921.
One of the things that Rukert has started working on, is removing the structure that is on Pier 1 (as seen in the picture above). As much as many of us love this old building (built perhaps in the 1930's (we will get this info for you in a future blog) it is not architecturally sound and is filled with asbestos. Work was begun on the pier in October and we were moved over to their C pier (see the picture below), which is about 2 piers over. Pier C is not an open access pier, like Pier 1, therefore, we need to follow Rukerts security plans. This means that TWIC cards are needed or else an escort from the gate to the ship and onto the BROWN is needed for every person who is not a member or does not have a TWIC card. This also means that Project Liberty Ship is paying for a security guard every Wednesday and Saturday so that members can get on board the ship to do work and maintenance.
About 2 weeks ago, Rukert saw a potential berthing problem and asked that we be moved from Pier C over to Pier 5. This pier is located right across from where we used to be on Pier 1 and for those of you that don't know this part of Baltimore, Pier 5 is where the large red crane is located. In the picture below you can see Pier one with much of the siding taken off and windows removed. You can also see the red crane off to the right side. We will be sure to keep you updated on Facebook as to our moves around the harbor and our future address.
The move was made this past Saturday with some crazy luck, as we had an early morning ice storm that coated roads and EVERYTHING with a layer of ice here in Baltimore. No injuries occurred and everything went safely ahead. For the next week or so, we will be hanging out on Pier 5. Thanks for reading and we hope this serves to answer some questions and keep many of you informed. We would also like to take the time to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.
