Courtesy of Claire Hlotyak ’27
The Downtown New London waterfront is looking a little different these days.
Cross the Golden Star Memorial Bridge, and one will notice a new structure towering over the Amtrak station. That five-story building on the banks of the Thames is the National Coast Guard Museum, set to open August 4, 2026, for the Coast Guard’s birthday.
The Museum will be free for the public and will be open 363 days a year, said James Brundage, Director of Programs and Exhibits for the National Coast Guard Museum. It will boast around 40,000 sq feet of exhibit space.
Until now, the only official Coast Guard Museum has been at the Coast Guard Academy, having opened in 1975. The idea for a national museum has been tossed around for around 20 years, Brundage said. One of the main goals is to educate the public on what, exactly, the Coast Guard does.
The Coast Guard Museum Association has coordinated and funded the museum’s construction. The funding has come from a mix of small individual donations, large corporate donors, and federal grants.
The Federal Government is not allowed to build the museum, which is why a non-profit associated with the Coast Guard is building it.
“Once they complete the building, [the Coast Guard Museum Association’s] role is done, and at that point, the Coast Guard will pay to operate the facility,” Brundage said.
When searching for a location for the museum, Brundage said they wanted a city with a long Coast Guard history. At first, they considered the DC area. Ultimately, New London was chosen for its proximity to the tourist destination Mystic, its location between Boston and New York, easy access off I-95, and, of course, its long history with the academy.
“In doing studies and basing it off of other visitation numbers and visitors through the area, the anticipation is that the Museum will get about a quarter million visitors a year,” Brundage said.
Economic Drivers
According to the 2020 US Census, New London has a population of about 27,000 people. The city of New London is forming a task force to prepare for this expected influx of visitors that the area is unaccustomed to.
“I think they recognize that [the Museum] will be an economic boon to the city,” Brundage said.
According to the Association’s website, “the Museum will serve as a catalyst for our local community, driving economic growth and business development to strengthen the surrounding areas in New London.” Their website estimates that the Museum will create a $10 million annual economic impact.
“What I would speculate is that bringing tens of thousands of people a month to the museum would be obviously very beneficial to the small businesses around here, restaurants, cafes, things like that,” Brundage added.
Looking Forward
Brundage has been in communication with New London Youth Affairs, the Mystic Seaport Museum, the Mystic Aquarium, and other organizations about implementing youth programs for the Museum.
He said they are asking questions like “how do we incorporate the narrative of the museum, those interactive elements, and how do we take that to schools, to communities?”
Another way to work with the community will be through its volunteer program, along with about 30 permanent staff members. The Museum also hopes to include Coast Guard cadets and students from other local schools like Connecticut College and Mitchell College in the future, Brundage said.
The museum’s fifth floor will feature an interactive mission experience to engage visitors and the community. In the mission, visitors will experience prepping for a big storm, a helicopter simulation, deploying a rescue swimmer, and other tasks that the Coast Guard actually does.
“[The missions] will put them into the mindset of what…the Coast Guard does and how…they operate,” Brundage said.
“Even if someone’s a Coast Guard Veteran, I think they’ll walk away learning something…[new] about the Coast Guard,” he added.
