Anchor Drop at the Peabody Essex Museum

In coordination with the opening of its new wing, the Peabody Essex Museum invites the public to join Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and the museum’s Rose-Marie and Eijk von Otterloo Director and CEO, Brian Kennedy, and James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, to witness history in the making. nA 4450-pound anchor, which came to the museum in 1906 through the United States Navy, will be gently re-installed on PEM’s campus on Monday, September 16 at 2 pm. From an unknown vessel, the anchor was hand-forged during the era of the early frigates, sometime between 1790 and 1812. It’s twisted shank suggests it endured a massive storm. nTo protect it during the construction of PEM’s new wing, which opens to the public on September 28, the anchor was removed from its station in front of East India Marine Hall and has recently undergone extensive conservation treatment. The anchor will be placed in front of East India Marine Hall just in time for the celebration of the museum’s new wing, located just adjacent to the Hall. nAs PEM’s first new director in 26 years, Brian Kennedy, the Rose-Marie and Eijk von Otterloo Director and CEO, is working with PEM staffers to open the museum’s stunning new wing to the public on September 28, furthering PEM’s intertwined history with that of the city of Salem. As he honors the maritime roots of both the museum and the city, Kennedy is working to find new ways to integrate the museum’s past, present, and future. Join PEM staff to take a photograph together in front of Salem’s old friend, the anchor, at the foundational building of the museum, East India Marine Hall. n Source: https://www.salem.org/event/anchor-drop-at-the-peabody-essex-museum/