Museum move is in the works

If the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum closes escrow in December on a

spot at the Balboa Fun Zone, the Pride of Newport, which now houses

the museum, will sail away forever.

David Muller, the museum’s executive director, said the boat was

built with an intended lifespan of 20 years -- and that was 40 years

ago. The nautical museum’s board of directors is now working on a

plan for facilities at the Fun Zone site, he said.

The Daily Pilot reported in April that the museum had opened an

escrow account for the Fun Zone site, with an eye to relocate there.

The Irvine Co., which owns the current museum site, has offered a

month-to-month lease through 2008 once the existing lease expires

next year, Muller said, but the pressure is still on the museum to

find a new home.

If escrow closes as planned on Dec. 15, moving the museum could

take nine months to a year, Muller said. Initial plans are to

renovate existing buildings at the Fun Zone and to add other

facilities later. When the museum moves, it will immediately take

over the mini golf room and later replace the spinning ride, Scary

Dark Ride and possibly the bumper cars and the arcade, said Joe

Tunstall, president of Balboa Fun Zone Rides Inc.

Muller said museum officials are excited because the move will

allow them to expand water-education programs and get more walk-in

business.

They’ll also own the property, though Muller wouldn’t disclose the

cost of the Fun Zone parcel.

And while it will mean changes for the Fun Zone, visitors will

still be able to ride the Ferris wheel or get a frozen banana. Having

the museum there will freshen things up in an area that has changed

from a tourist vacation spot to a neighborhood of year-round

residents, Tunstall said.

“Instead of bumper cars, there’ll be boats, but it’ll put foot

traffic into Balboa,” he said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or o7alicia.robinson@latimes.comf7.