The final design plan for Carter’s Wharf Buying Station, created by 2A Architects, LLC. Courtesy of Amanda Austin

In Boothbay Harbor, a new seafood buying station is slated to enter the scene: Carter’s Wharf, which will operate at the historic Sea Pier. 

Under the Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation (BRMF), the wharf, one of many on the harbor’s east side, will be transformed into a place to store and ship local seafood. 

The goal was to create a building to enhance the working waterfront and accommodate the current and future needs of commercial harvesting.

Amanda Austin of 2A Architects LLC began working with the crew in 2019. Although the project was fully permitted in January 2021, the scope was reduced due to budget constraints. After many engineering and permit-modification delays, the design is now complete, and a call for bids has been placed. 

Austin settled on a design for a 28-foot-by-64-foot, single-story, wood-framed building with large overhead doors on each end to facilitate the loading and unloading of perishables. For pickups, there is a 3-foot concrete curb, and a pedestrian corridor around the exterior of the building allows the public to learn about the seafood industry through maps, murals and information panels. 

“We met with all the players,” said Deanne Tibbetts, BRMF president. “Fishermen, industry professionals and our former tenant, Luke’s Lobster, to ensure the station has all the up-to-date information.” 

GEI Consultants’ structural and civil engineers built the pier, taking into account future sea level rise. Since the building is relatively seasonal, with no heating and little need for additional lighting — it is what Austin calls a “low-energy design.”

“We chose exterior cladding that resists wear and tear,” Austin said. “In an effort to strike a balance between functionality and aesthetics.” 

The murals on the exterior won’t wash away either, Tibbetts said, as they’ll be covered with a sealant. 

The “Clamdigger Mural,” 20-by-60 feet, is found on the corner of Washington and Congress streets in Portland. Susan Bartlett Rice photo

Artists Susan Bartlett Rice and Molly Holmberg Brown of MollyMaps were commissioned to “spruce up the project.” 

Rice will create two murals. One will focus on the business’s generational aspect — an image of a young and old lobsterman fishing together — and the other will represent the industry’s future — a pogie net for catching bait. 

As a South Bristol-based artist, her work centers around the working waterfront. It captures the posture of clam diggers and scenes like a lone lobster trap on a dock. 

One of her first series of lobstermen portraits was anonymously done, but because the faces were so recognizable in the community, many knew who the subjects were. She hopes the same will be the case with her Carter’s Wharf murals.

In 2019, Susan Bartlett Rice painted SailMaine’s old sails for their J22s. Her art was seen traveling around Casco Bay for the entire month of August. Susan Bartlett Rice photo

“It’s a funny line to walk as someone who appreciates the fishing industry without being a part of it,” Rice said. “Tradition is such a big part of the industry; it’s been passed down through the generations and our hope is that will continue.” 

It’s not Rice’s first time exhibiting her work outside the gallery — her “Clamdigger Mural” can be seen on the corner of Washington and Congress streets in Portland, as can another depicting the logging industry at the Machias Savings Bank Operations Center. 

Conversely, Brown will create a map of the Maine lobster zones and a close-up of Zone E, which regional fishermen use. 

Brown’s work, a marriage of cartography and climate-change awareness, aims to show how disconnected we have become from our landscapes.

“We don’t think seven generations ahead,” Brown said. “Instead, we tend to react. I’m interested in the phenomenological ways we live and find new ways to help us connect deeper to the places we love.” 

While traditional maps use technical information to garner a general sense of orientation, Brown leans on cultural symbols and colors — like the bright orange of fishing overalls darting across the marina by boat. 

“I’m trying to appreciate the breadth of Maine, the beauty of all its small islands, and the local scene,” Brown said. “Everyone has a special place, and I want to make sure that’s included; there’s something for every viewer to connect to.”

A cartographic map of all of Maine with Canada surrounding to the north and east. Molly Holmberg Brown photo

Currently, BRMF is reviewing bids and hoping to find some local contractors that can begin building as soon as April. 

“The lobstering community has waited long enough for this pier to be completed,” Tibbetts said. “We don’t want any more delays.” 

To support the project, you can sponsor the murals, maps and educational panels by emailing brmaritimefoundation@gmail.com. Memorial plaques can be arranged. If you are a commercial fisherman or business interested in renting the services at the new facility, email the address listed above or send a letter of interest to P.O. Box 285, Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538.