Hershman says he particularly likes the way Puget Sound is explained at the center using a computer model and video that are part of an ongoing UW project led by oceanographer Jeff Richey. Known as PRISM, the project is pulling together a wealth of existing information about Puget Sound into a computer model that can help predict what future changes will mean to the system. PRISM is funded in part by the University Initiatives Fund.

Along with the long-awaited opening of the center, 1998 also marks the year Hershman received the Puget Sound Maritime Achievement Award. Hershman received the award in May because of his commitment, persistence and leadership leading to the opening of Odyssey.

Hershman was in his second year at the UW when the success of the just-opened Seattle aquarium prompted him to think that the public should have a chance to learn about how humans use the sea, coastal areas and waterfront for various maritime activities.

Using seed money from the Washington Sea Grant program and the City of Seattle, Hershman, his UW students and colleagues launched efforts in the late ’70s that included a display of photos depicting various eras of Seattle’s maritime history and writing the book Seattle’s Waterfront: The Walker’s Guide to the History of Elliott Bay.

In 1982, the non-profit Waterfront Awareness group was formed with Hershman as the first president. The group conducted a major symposium on the future of the Seattle waterfront and mounted a number of maritime exhibitions, the largest of which was The Water Link on display at Pier 57 from 1986 until 1988.

It was during 1988 that the city said it could no longer provide space on the waterfront for such displays. When the Port of Seattle decided to try to redevelop Pier 66 for a mix of urban uses—including an international conference center, retail space and moorage—it seemed that a waterfront maritime museum or center would be a good fit.

Waterfront Awareness gave way to a new organization, one better able to raise money and work with the port. That group, which eventually became Odyssey, lined up more than 1,000 donors, including federal and state agencies, maritime businesses, labor groups and foundations, to contribute more than $10 million.

Hershman says the work during the past 20 years has been a good fit between the UW and the community. UW faculty have long been involved and are speakers in a number of videos that will be shown when the new center opens. Hershman says he’s always had students involved. Scott Powell, for example, earned a master’s in marine affairs working for Hershman and was one of the first employees hired by Waterfront Awareness. Four or five UW students have served internships and conducted research for Odyssey in recent years. Rick Mazzota, another of Hershman’s graduate students, is now Odyssey’s director of interpretation.

“I’ve told Odyssey they can count on us for years to come,” Hershman says. ¶

Sandra Hines, News and Information

Odyssey will open July 1. Summer hours: Sunday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone 206-374-4000.