St. Mary’s County Public Works and Transportation Director George Erichsen with the H-3 as a backdrop
Lexington Park, MD — It’s been 20 years in the making and it’s almost but not quite ready yet. But, a significant milestone for the new Patuxent River Naval Air Museum and Visitor Center was reached Nov. 3. With the building complete, the keys to it were formally transferred from the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Association (PRNAMA), which will run the new museum.
The transfer and dedication ceremonies were held in the main display area with an H-3 as a backdrop. It had just been moved inside the building earlier in the day. On Nov. 4 a Joint Strike Fighter is expected to join the H-3 in the building.
But the exhibits are still be to placed there, which is why PRNAMA President Ed Sierra told The BayNet that realistically an opening can be expected sometime in the first quarter of 2016. Sierra said there have been delays. “We are all volunteers,” he said.
The 21,000-square-foot building was constructed by Biscayne Contractors, which took over the work from the original failed contractor. In opening remarks, George Erichsen, the county’s public works and transportation director, said he could go on endlessly mentioning the people and organizations who contributed along the way to reaching that moment.
Erichsen, whose department managed the construction project for the county, said the completed building is the first silver LEED-certified green building in the county It includes warm floors, interior sound-proofing and radiant windows.
Erichsen also talked about the building’s distinguishing features, including its airfoil shape and outside super graphics of an F-18 and F-35. “I think they make the building pop,” he said.
“Today represents the relentless vision of this building,” Erichsen said. He promised it would become a “focal point for tourism” in the county.
Commissioner President Randy Guy [R}, with the other four commissioners looking on, noted the close relationship between the Navy and the community. He said of what the museum can accomplish: “I hope it can bring information inside the gates outside.”
Guy noted that the county had contributed more than $500,000 for the refurbishment on the older buildings on the property so they can be used for exhibit and artifact storage and other programs.
Sierra said, “This is the community’s museum. The association is here to make this a great museum. He said their mission was to “preserve, educate and inspire,” which he further described as follows:
• Preserve significant artifacts of naval aviation Research, Development, Test and Evaluation history and technology.
• Educate the public about the historic and social significance of the work of the U.S. Navy that is uniquely carried out in St. Mary’s County.
• Inspire and encourage excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and embrace its future promise as a pathway to advanced innovations and an improved quality of life.
Sierra said the museum’s vision was: “Continue to be a highly valued community resource that provides both educational and tourism benefits to Southern Maryland and the Nation by celebrating and preserving the past, present and future accomplishments achieved from the research, development, test and evaluation of Naval Aircraft.”
The museum has a big fundraiser coming up Friday, Nov. 6–their Inaugural dinner. For more information call Mari at 301-863-1900.
For more information about the museum go to www.paxmuseum.com
Photos from the dedication ceremony are by The Bay Net Photojournalist Ron Bailey.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
