The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans (the CHO) has been awarded two grants to develop professional engineering and architectural plans for a new building to protect and display the famous CG36500 motor lifeboat. The first is a $55,000 Orleans Community Preservation Fund grant approved by voters at the May 8 Town Meeting; the other is a $35,000 award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Facilities Fund.
 

These grants demonstrate strong support from the town and state for our project. We at the CHO are excited to begin this community effort for the permanent preservation and year-round display of the CG36500, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Every year thousands of people come to Orleans from across the country and abroad to see this national treasure and hear about ‘the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.’ Our intent is to keep the CG36500 story alive, and in our town, for generations to come.

While the 77-year-old wooden vessel is fully restored and operational, it cannot stay in the water forever. Maintenance, fuel and insurance costs are rising, mechanical replacement parts are scarce, and it is becoming more difficult to find skilled volunteers to pilot the boat. We have to plan for its future out of the water and indoors.

The total $90,000 in grants will enable us to hire an engineer and architect to help locate and design the building on a small portion of town-owned land directly behind our Hurd Chapel. That will require town and voter approval of a change to an existing long-term lease for part of the Hurd Chapel footprint to include the additional land. The professional plans will help determine how much space the project will need.

Most of the funding for the project’s $2.5 million cost is expected to come from federal and other state grants, plus private foundations and individual donations from across the country. Fundraising efforts will begin in earnest next year, and construction could start in late 2025 and be completed a year later.

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We thank the Community Preservation Fund and town voters for their generous support of this project. The funding, recommended by the Orleans Community Preservation Committee, comes from two sources—a local surcharge of 3 percent on property tax bills and contributions from the state tied to the surcharge. In addition to historic preservation, the fund supports projects related to community housing, recreation and the acquisition of open space.

The Cultural Facilities Fund, managed in collaboration with MassDevelopment, provides major improvement grants to nonprofit cultural organizations in recognition of “their profound economic impact on communities across Massachusetts,” according to its website. Since 2006, the fund has “encouraged sound growth, supported important development projects, played a crucial role in the growth of local tourism, created thousands of jobs, and driven millions of dollars in private investment.”

The CG36500 lifeboat house project is important for the future of Orleans, as well as for the preservation of one of America’s incredible legacies. With the approval of these first two grants, we are off to a good start.

For more information and to learn how you can get support this project, please email admin@orleanshs.org or call 508-240-1329.