Thames River Heritage Park and its Water Taxi Which Connects the Sites Starts in May, 2016

The Thames River Heritage Park is the successor to the Thames Maritime Heritage Park that was designated as a State Park in July 1990. It is not a conventional park with fixed borders. Instead, it’s a framework that draws together heritage and contemporary sites, neighborhoods, commercial districts and institutions on both sides of the river. It does this by coordinating signs, graphics, information, kiosks, website and mobile apps, programming, and, ultimately, by having the heritage sites all open at the same time. The Thames River Heritage Park is a thoroughly modern concept for a park. There is none other like it in Connecticut. We will be the first.

The park will have four anchor sites connected by water taxi:

• Fort Trumbull
• Fort Griswold
• The Submarine Force Museum
• Coast Guard Museum, scheduled to open in 2018

Here are just a few of the many sites you can explore during a visit to the Thames River Heritage Park:

Heritage sites:

• Submarine Force Museum and USS Nautilus
• Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park
• Groton Monument and House Museum
• Fort Trumbull State Park
• Custom House Maritime Museum
• Shaw Mansion
• Nathan Hale School House
• Hempsted Houses
• US Coast Guard Academy Museum
• Lyman Allyn Art Museum
• Avery-Copp House
• Ebenezer Avery House
• Mother Bailey House
• Old Town Mill
• Monte Cristo Cottage

Other cultural attractions:

• Groton Bank
• Bill Memorial Library
• Groton Congregational Church
• New London Historic Waterfront District
• Garde Arts Center
• Hygienic Art
• Whale Oil Row
• U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II National Memorial East
• The Gallery at Firehouse Square
• Ledge Lighthouse

The Park will engage residents and visitors in a rich program of events, culture and experiences which celebrate the diverse peoples and traditions that have shaped the life of the region. It will be designed, programmed and promoted to make that heritage and culture vivid and accessible to all. For complete information go to www.thamesriverheritagepark.org.