On Saturday, February 22, the doors of the new Marion Maritime Center and Harbormaster facility were open to the public. Up until this point, the only look anyone had received was that of released pictures or MRC’s posted meetings. The new building sits near the sea with a system of 360-degree cameras allowing full sight of the harbor – and grounds surrounding the facility, as explained by Harbormaster Adam Murphy upon giving some visitors a tour of his new office. The cameras have extremely high fidelity and resolution, allowing the capturing of license plates on land, or boat registration information at sea.
The layout of the facility is that of a circle. The middle is the central control area, where general harbor monitoring takes place and phone calls are taken. Flanking that on either side are hallways. The main meeting room to the left was full of snacks, like Dunkin Donuts, coffee, and other pastries and snacks. Around the back and right sides are various offices and a locker room. The whole site is built on “stilts” and rests above a garage for a Harbormaster boat and other machinery and equipment.
Construction began in January 2024 with primary work being of the new facility being completed about ten months later, last October.
By Sam Bishop