The troubled Downeast Heritage Museum on Tuesday announced it has filed for bankruptcy.
The Calais museum filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in a Bangor court Monday. Chapter 7 will allow the museum to liquidate its assets to pay off $1.6 million in mortgage debt, the Bangor Daily News reported. The museum, which opened in 2004, struggled from the beginning to make ends meet amidst declining federal funds and a lack of visitors. In 2006, the museum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allowed it to reduce its debt from $3.2 million to $600,000. The museum did not open this summer. (Read about the museum’s struggles in the Mainebiz article “Destination unknown” from August 2006.)
The museum has $13,500 in personal property, including exhibits, and owes $1 million in mortgage debt to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and $600,000 in mortgage debt to the USDA Rural Development office, the paper reported. The museum continues to operate while it goes through bankruptcy.
