When complete in about a year, a new glass-and-steel entrance will pick up the wave form of the existing roof, and a new glass wall on its river side will for the first time make the river visible from inside the museum that tells its story. Another big window along Marine Drive, the main drag through town, will allow passers by to view a new U.S. Coast Guard rescue scene built around a 44-foot motor lifeboat currently parked on the plaza in front of the museum.

The expansion will add just over 7,000 sf to the 33,000-sf museum. The 38-year-old Columbia River Maritime Museum, one of the major attractions in this city perched at the mouth of the Columbia River, receives upwards of 70,000 visitors annually despite its out-of-the-way location in the northwest corner of the state. The expansion was designed by the Fletcher Farr Ayotte architecture firm from Portland, and McCarthy, one of the nation's largest domestic general contractors, is leading the construction effort, says museum spokeswoman Zoe Ulshen.

The Museum features more than 7,000 artifacts, and the lightship Columbia, a National Historic Landmark. In addition to the new features already mentioned, a new cinema will show a 12-minute orientation documentary on the history of the Columbia River from its tributaries to the bar. A bigger meeting room, divisible by two, and a cafe also are part of the expansion plans.